Will Khaleda uphold Zia's promise?

A huge amount of taka is being spent to purchase medicine. But it is an open secret that the poor patients in the government hospitals/ heath centres seldom get free medicine, something they are suppose to get regularly. Shahid president Ziaur Rahman declared to set up one essential drug factory in each administrative division to produce medicine and other items required for patients treated in government hospitals, health complexes, etc. So far, it is known that two essential drug factories have been set up in Dhaka and Rajshahi division. Four more factories need to be set up in other divisions. Illegal drainage of medicine and other medicare items from government health care units has to be stopped.

The drugs produced in government's essential drug factories must be supplied in generic names and should be packed in balk quantities, not in a strip of 8 to 12 tablets or capsule or as liquid medicine in 250 ml battles. Rather, those should be packed in 100 tablets or capsules in a plastic container. And, liquid medicines should be packed in 500 ml or 1 ltr. bottles

The nurses in hospitals will feed the medicine according to the dose suggested by doctors. Medical practitioners usually prescribe medicine in trade names. The patients other than from government health care units will receive prescriptions from doctors for medicine bearing trade names. They will purchase those from the chemist shop produced by private medicine producers. The private patients will not agree to purchase government made medicine in loose packets as well as in generic names.

We urge the government to produce medicine in generic names, pack in bulk quantities and set up additional four essential drug factories at Sylhet, Barisal, Chittagong and Khulna divisions to cater for the demand of government hospitals and clinics.