Possible drugs shortage in next 3 months - Health Minister

There would be a shortage of certain drugs in the next three months due to the delay in opening Letter of Credits (LCs), Health Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana said today.

He told Parliament that it would take about 90 days to receive stocks of certain drugs and that the ministry had taken every effort to minimise the impact of the drug shortage.

He said LCs which should have been opened in January this year had to be delayed till April first week due to the dollar crisis.

"The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have offered to support us to procure essential drugs. The World Health organisation (WHO) will provide us with a stock of emergency drugs within the next two weeks. We have also sought assistance of the Red Cross to procure drugs," he said.

The Minister said there was a shortage of one out of the fourteen life saving drugs, 37 out of 646 essential drugs and 48 out of 486 non essential drugs at the moment.

He said no death has been reported in the country due to the shortage of drugs so far as claimed by the opposition.