DHAKA: The government has decided to stick red and green labels on the packets or bottles of government-supplied medicines, Health Minister Dr AFM Ruhal Huq said Sunday about the measure meant for preventing reported rampant pilferage of medical supplies.    

“If such a branded medicine is found in any pharmacy excepting a public hospital, the license of the drugstore will be cancelled,” said the physician-turned health minister.

The Minister announced the step at a press conference in the conference room of the Health Ministry, disclosing instances of heists involving lifesaving medicines as well as other supplies.

“We came to know that the private pharmacies are selling government medicines and to track down the pharmacies we have taken the measure,” he told the journalists.

He also said in the briefing that the government would supply medicines four times more than they did before. Now the government can buy the medicines at four times less price. “So we can supply four times more medicine to the public hospitals.”   

The health minister also informed that at present the government would supply a total of 500 types of medicines tagged with red and green labels.

Replying to a question about unauthorized medicine shops he said the government has already taken an initiative to appoint some 400-strong manpower under the Drug Administration and the problem would be solved thereafter.   
   
Secretary of the health ministry Sheikh Altaf Ali frankly admitted that medicines are supplied from the health complex by “dishonest” workers.  “If the system is implemented, the problem will be solved,” he added.

“Medicines are government asset and it is a crime to sell those out from the hospitals,” said the top bureaucrat in the sector.
 

The minister informed in the briefing that the government at present buys medicines from 25 private companies, including the best-known ones like Incepta, Beximco, Popular, ACI, Renata and Square.  
 
BDST: 1430 Hrs, June 6,2010
UB/PB/MMA/MUA