Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the establishment of an international-level drug testing laboratory in Islamabad to ensure global standards for medicines in the country. He provided these directions while chairing a meeting on health and pharmaceutical sector reforms in Islamabad.
According to Radio Pakistan, the Prime Minister also instructed the launch of mobile hospitals to deliver healthcare facilities in the outskirts of Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, and Balochistan. In an effort to combat spurious medicines, he advised an operation in consultation with provincial governments, emphasizing that fraudsters cannot be allowed to play with human lives.
Shehbaz Sharif stressed the development of a comprehensive plan to improve the pharmaceutical sector and regulations in cooperation with provincial governments. He called for the identification and immediate action against officers facilitating counterfeiting within the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP).
The Prime Minister further advised an increase in medicine exports through research in the pharmaceutical sector. He instructed the expedited implementation of reforms in DRAP, ensuring the appointment of reputed and experienced experts on merit in the DRAP Policy Board. He also directed priority measures to strengthen and make the Drug Pricing Committee effective.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister was apprised of the progress regarding ongoing reforms in the health and pharmaceutical sector. It was informed that the registration system for domestically manufactured medicines under a digital system is in its final stages. Additionally, consultations on the National Medicines Policy are ongoing and will soon be presented for approval.
The meeting revealed the appointment of 94 new drug inspectors and a performance review of the existing 25 inspectors, with instructions to ensure transparency in the appointment process. Pakistan’s current medicine export volume stands at five hundred million dollars, and steps, including research facilities, are being taken to boost exports. The establishment of an Export Directorate in DRAP to increase domestic medicine exports is also nearing completion.
The Prime Minister was briefed on the Ministry of Health’s efforts to enhance sector capacity and align it with international standards to promote the export of surgical instruments.