Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley has ordered the Health Ministry and Drug Regulatory Authority to address the drug shortage problem in the Country by April 15.
According to the Director of Department of Medical Services, Dr. Ugen Dophu, out of the 401 essential drugs only 43 could not be procured through tender or normal process. He said that the government has given approval to purchase directly from manufacturers or dealers or from the retail markets.
The Director said that a team is already in Kolkata, India to get the 43 essential drugs. “Of this, we got 38 drugs, all are on the way to Bhutan from Kolkata. Some have already reached Phuentsholing and some, they are dispatching today and tomorrow. So it will reach Bhutan within one or two days.”
The Director assured that about 98 percent of the drugs will be made available by 15th or 16th April. “Out of 1,143 different reagents, we could not get 53 reagents through tender or normal process of procurement. So we send a team to buy these reagents directly from Kolkata.”
Out of 53, five could not be procured. “So we will be making about 99 percent of the reagents available in the country. We will require one or two weeks to distribute and reach to all the health facilities.”
