According to Dawn.com, Lahore is experiencing a severe shortage of life-saving medicines with more than 120 drugs unavailable at the local pharmacies and medical stores. The shortage has resulted in stress among patients and attendants.
These include medicines like Glucophage (for diabetics) that are prescribed at a large scale. In fact, an alternative to Glucophage for type 2 diabetes to control sugar levels, is also in short supply in local stores.
Others include blood thinning medicines used by cardiac patients; Hepa-Merz used as a supportive therapy for liver diseases like jaundice, hepatitis (infection of the liver), hepatic cirrhosis (scarring/fibrosis of the liver).
According to medical practitioners, medicines for diarrhea treatment are also in short supply even though the demand is high following rain spells. Severe stomach-related ailments can lead to complications and even death.
Moreover, as per medical practitioners, widely-used drugs prescribed to children and adults for coughs are being sold in the black market and that pharmacy owners are hoarding commonly used medicines like Pyodine and Polyfax skin ointment etc to earn unjustified profits.
Pharmaceutical companies are also struggling with drug manufacturing and supplying them against the approved rates due to the frequent dollar rate hike. This has also resulted in increased prices of raw material being imported from other countries.
Additionally, medicines for Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and gynae-related complications are also short.
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