Hostage to the greed of a few

An unscrupulous nexus of a few corrupt persons in the Institute of Public Health (IPH) has caused scarcity of saline and other key medical supplies in the public hospitals, and there are more than 600 of them in the country, forcing those patients, who are supposed to get this free of cost, to buy from pharmacies outside. For many that is a tall task. But what is reprehensible is the reason behind the shortfall in production of saline bags and the unacceptable explanations that are being given out to us by the IPH.

Persons of responsibility entrusted to hold important positions in such vital establishments dealing with health, cannot get away by saying that the sudden decline in the fall of production of saline, by more than one-fourth of the quantity before the decline started in early July 2018, was because of shortage of raw materials. Senior officers are paid to see that the production cycle is not uninterrupted and unforeseen conditions are factored in the supply chain management, particularly of a fast-moving item such as saline.

The actual reason, as was reported in this paper yesterday, is the unholy alliance between the IPH management and private companies, to benefit them by reducing IPH production. And we are sure such a "magnanimous" gesture to help private saline producers was not without some reciprocity from the private producers. It is equally puzzling to hear different persons at different positions offer different timeframes regarding the duration when the production was zero.

The matter is serious, and those who play with the health safety of poor people should not go unpunished. We would hope that the ministry of health would enquire into the alleged unholy nexus and bring the culprits to book.