Recent news reports making fresh
disclosures about substandard drugs being consumed by the people in Kashmir are
shocking and shameful. One can only express his dismay and deep disgust over
government inaction in controlling and regulating the quality of medicines
being consumed by the people. The very fact that sale of spurious and
substandard drugs is continuing unabated with full knowledge of the drug control
officials is proof enough that government is taking Kashmiri people for granted
as there is complete lack of accountability on all fronts particularly in
matters related to health of the people at large. When Drugs Controller of the
state himself admits that people are being supplied fake and substandard
medicines and they have utterly failed to curb such consumptions, a deep sense
of distress becomes clearly visible among the hapless masses. Who else can save
this sinking ship when the savior himself turns disdainfully inept and impotent?
Even while present Government of J&K
is about to complete its full term of six years and new assembly elections are
on cards, it has not only miserably failed in implementing the draft drug
policy that was revised with due intervention of the subject experts of the
Civil Society Forum Kashmir but has displayed total inaction in fulfilling its
tall promises of upgrading drug testing facilities of the state and making
alternative drug testing laboratory functional at Bemina, Srinagar for which a
detailed proposal was also submitted to the govt. by CSFK. Government’s
face-saving measures taken at a time when spurious drug scam surfaced in the
state like setting up of J&K Medical Supplies Corporation and streamlining
drug procurement on the pattern of Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation have
proved to be a damp squib and a non-starter in spite of the fact that more than
a year has passed ever since this Corporation was set up but it is still quite
far from being functional since no sufficient staff or funds have been made
available to the said Corporation so far. Same is the fate of other provisions
of the draft drug policy like implementing generic drug prescribing and sale within
government hospitals and issuing drug licences to qualified pharmacists only. One
can safely conclude that the present term of the government has been a complete
waste in securing health of its people. Government has miserably failed on
every front.
With this kind of pathetic state of
affairs civil society must come on roads and protest against the government
inaction and dilly-dallying attitude regarding this vital aspect of public
health. It is high time that the concerned ministry and health authorities of
the state fulfill their promises made to the people from time to time and
ensure sale of standard quality drugs besides implementing all provisions of
the draft drug policy and issuing drug licences to qualified personnel only.
Registration of unqualified people as pharmacists and issuing drug licences to
them must stop forthwith and qualified pharmacists must be employed in all hospitals
of the state. J&K Medical Supplies Corporation must be provided with all
requisite facilities and made fully functional besides upgrading the drug
testing facilities on a war footing basis.
