Mawlamyine, 13 December
A widespread medicine shortage is increasing in hospitals, clinics, and pharmaceutical companies, along with high medicine prices in Mon State since the second week of December, pharmacists and doctors told Than Lwin Times.
Drug shortages are a result of the military council’s refusal to issue import permits for foreign medicine, its insistence on purchasing these drugs at the black market’s forex rate, and the keeping of import and export restrictions.
Medicine prices also rose by at least 20% to 50%, depending on the type of medicine, in December, and the prices of commonly used medicines almost doubled.
There is a serious shortage of commonly used drugs imported from abroad, such as drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure, stomach ache, and pain, and other drugs are completely out of stock.
“Because it has become difficult to buy medicine, we are saving medicine and treating patients, and the worst thing is that patients who are taking medicine for chronic disease are unable to buy medicine,” a doctor told Than Lwin Times.
According to pharmaceutical companies, Mon State is running low on supplies and will face a complete shortage if more drugs are not imported.
Due to the difficulty of importing medicine, pharmaceutical companies are currently selling medicines in stock through a quota system, and people are suffering from the ever-increasing price of pharmaceutical products.
Mon State primarily imports medicine and related supplies from Thailand, China, and India, and it frequently suffers from drug shortages and high prices during the military coup.
News-Than Lwin Times
Photo-TLT
Thanlwintimes