KARACHI:
Although nearly all families prioritize the well-being of a loved one with a chronic illness, those facing skyrocketing drug prices amid limited financial resources often have to decide between purchasing a box of blood thinners and a bag of flour.
One such family was that of Ghulam Rasool, a patient suffering from heart disease and diabetes. “After the recent increase in drug prices, we can no longer afford the treatment doses prescribed by doctors. More than half of my salary would go to purchasing my medications, making it difficult for me to cover daily expenses. of the house, so I am forced to stop taking my medicines, putting my life at risk,” lamented Rasool, who called on the government to take measures to reduce the prices of life-saving medicines.
Similarly, Javed, a hypertension patient, revealed that he had been using blood pressure medication since last one year. “The price of this medicine has increased by Rs 300. Now, instead of taking a daily dose, I use it every other day, due to which my blood pressure is not controlled properly. This has seriously affected my daily routine and work office”. lamented Javed.
Zubair Wahab, a Karachi-based wholesale drug trader, confirmed that claims of an unannounced increase in drug prices were, in fact, true. “Over the last one year, prices of medicines have increased every 15 days by Rs 300 to Rs 400, while prices of other medicines have increased significantly by 50 to 75 per cent.
Due to the cold weather, the prices of medicines used for cold, flu, fever and allergies have been continuously increasing due to the increase in demand for them,” Wahab said.
According to Asim Jameel Siddiqui, Secretary General of Pakistan Chemists and Medicines Association, the World Health Organization (WHO) has published a list of 900 medicines, of which 400 formulations are life-saving or essential, while 500 formulations remaining are not necessary. -essential.
“After decontrolling the prices of non-essential drugs, the prices of non-essential drugs have increased, while for essential drugs an annual increase of seven percent is allowed. In this case, the shortage of various drugs and vaccines continues while their prices Medicines sold by multinational pharmaceutical companies have also increased more than those produced locally It is true that the medicines are becoming out of reach of common patients Although there is no sales tax on allopathic medicines, a 18. by cent. Goods and Services Tax (GST) is applicable on alternative medicines from 2024,” Siddiqui informed.
Siddique further revealed that the price of pheniramine maleate injection used to treat allergies had increased from Rs 432 in April 2024 to Rs 1,500 in August 2024. Similarly, the price of a medicine used as a multivitamin was increased, which cost 224 rupees in April 2024. to 351 rupees in October 2024.
Additionally, prochlorperazine maleate, a medicine used to treat vomiting, was priced at Rs 312 in February 2024, which increased to Rs 900 in September 2024. Similarly, the price of a cough syrup increased from Rs 89 at 130 rupees. Similarly, the price of miconazole gel used for ulcers increased from Rs 215 to Rs 588.
The prices of most medications have reportedly tripled over the past year, forcing low-income patients to reduce their medication dosage.
