The Health Ministry has acted swiftly to have Rs.1 billion released from the Treasury for the local purchase of essential cancer drugs required by the Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama, the country’s premier cancer treatment facility.
The Apeksha hospital made an appeal to the Health Ministry recently regarding the shortage of 24 essential drugs required for cancer patients.
Accordingly, the newly appointed Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi had urgently raised this matter with Health Ministry Secretary P.S.M. Charles and the Treasury and had arranged for the release of Rs.1 billion for the emergency purchase of these drugs to meet the shortage, Health Ministry spokesman Viraj Abeysinghe told the Daily News.
As these drugs are urgently in need at the Apeksha Hospital, the Health Ministry had arranged for this money to be released in order to allow the hospital to obtain the required drugs through the local purchase system during this week.
Further, the Health Ministry said that as the pharmaceutical companies have already opened Letters of Credit for the import of drugs and supplies were on the way, there would not be a shortage of essential drugs during the next month.
Health Minister Wanniarachchi had, however, noted that the current drug purchasing mechanism needed to be updated, the spokesman said.
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