BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
Healthy community is an asset for a nation that contributes proficient share to the latter’s development which in turn makes provision of adequate health service mandatory. In Ethiopia, however, health access needs to go long distance to meet the needs of its population. Among the reasons for the sector’s downsizing performance are various challenges the health institutions face such as shortage of medicine, inadequate supply of basic health devices among others. Besides, these shortcomings are pervasive from the city up to the peripheral areas of the country.
The medicine issues must be prioritized. Nevertheless, the local medicine manufacturers faced tremendous upside downs due to shortage of hard currency. The problems are similar to other sectors that have been chronic for long which in turn threatens the public health and remain unresolved yet.
On the other hand, the Ethiopian medicine service institute imports 70 % of the nation’s medicine demand and supply to consumers but purchasing only 10 % of it from local manufacturers. The Ethiopian medicine and equipment producers association which comprise senior and new producing companies recently conducted its 19th annual meeting. According to the study paper, the association with no importing rival and competitive bidding imported medicines and supply to local markets.
However, in the last five years the role of local producing companies in supplying their products to local market is declining. Some local importers who made contract to import but quit due to various problems which are beyond their capacity. Substituting the local importers, government imported 72 medicine items and medical equipment that worth 23 million Dollars in 2020/21. In addition, in the last budget year it was forced to import about 82 medicine items investing 32 million Dollars. Local importers even though they got chance to import medicines by winning bids, unable to do so due to shortage of hard currency. As a result, shortage of medical supply to the local market has been aggravated. In line with these crises, hospitals are unable to treat their patients properly and unable to save lives in some causes.
Not only this, the prolonging of interval to obtain medical treatment coerced patients to purchase medicines with exaggerated price from outside sources that imported with high cost.
State Minister of Health Dr. Derje Duguma said that previously, his Ministry had planned in the last five years to produce 60 % of medicines and medical equipment locally and to substitute the imported products. But because of various reasons it could not meet the plan. Hence, it was forced to import 85 % medicines and equipment from abroad.
The Ministry supported local medicine and medical equipment producers in collaboration with the Ministry’s agent institutions to pursue good governance system. Nevertheless, as to Dereje, the sector still is unable to overcome its inherent problems. In the past, 20 % of medicine and medical equipment was supplied by the local manufacturers but now it is downsized to 8 %.
As to the State Minister, reduction of the local manufacturer’s capacity to this level is worrisome. Even some of them reached to the verge of their closure and perform in their lowest capacity. The major factor for recession of their production attributed to shortage of foreign currency which used it for the importation of their inputs.
Most of the time when problems mentioned in the sector directly related with the shortage of hard currency and the government announced its resoluteness to resolve the problem. But direction was taken that the long lasting solution of the problem is substituting the imported products by local one. The Kenyan experience in this regard can be mentioned as exemplary. As to him, 70 % of that country’s medicine and medical equipment are locally produced.
Daniel waqtole, President of the Ethiopian Medicine and Medical Equipment Association said that government’s support for the medicine producers has shown progress but the supply reversely has shown shortfall.
As to Daniel, the nation’s economy is running short in of hard currency and not only the medical but also the whole sector is affected by the dwindling of foreign currency reserve. Hence, in order to bring about durable solution, the government should allocate its financial resource for the crucial sectors and reduce the importation of medicine by substituting the imported ones. In the country there are manufacturers which have the capacity to produce forty percent of the pharmaceutical products. Hence, to fully exploit their potential, emphasis has been given to the matter with the government collaboration and agreement is reached to work together.
As to Daniel, in order to resolve the sector’s problem, attention also should be paid in improving the anomalies in the purchasing system of the medical equipment and medicines. For instance, the local pharmaceutical producers need to compete the bid by Birr to supply their products to local market while foreign producers sell their products in Dollars. The paradox here is local producers exchange their products in Birr and they purchase their industry inputs by Dollar.
Consequently, this needs some kind of adjustment. The Ethiopian medicine supply service spends foreign currency to import products from abroad. Instead, it would rather be better if it provides the hard currency to local producers so that they import easily and boost their production capacity and supply to the market.
Fasica Mekete is an advisor of local medical production department at the Ministry of Health. As to him, previously the local pharmaceutical producing sector was under the authority of the Ministry of Industry. But following the handing over of the inspection duty to the Ministry of Health, special attention has been given to the sector and facilitative environment was created to promote the sector. Working with the stakeholders in a coordinated manner is underway. Some actions are also taken to improve the legal framework of the industrial production. Efforts will also be exerted to supply sufficient raw materials to the producing sector.
Nevertheless, still local medicine and medicinal equipment producers are facing severe challenges and their producing capacity is declining.
Fasika said that in the future, better situations will be created and the industries’ producing capacity and quality will also be improved. He further said that even though some incentives such as tax holydays was provided to the sector, better result was not achieved and some assessment is being conducted to know why poor result is registered. In addition to providing tax holydays, the issue in which what options are available to support the sector is being assessed. Moreover, equipment of the pharmaceutical industries will be calibrated. Supporting the sector through conducting research and study and through provision of market opportunities will be taken as viable mechanism.
As to Fasika, though raw materials utilized as inputs for pharmaceutical industries imported duty freely, the imported materials such as regents are utilized by other producing sector. The revenue authority workers know how to identify the product types and manuals are prepared to manage the logistical work in simplified manner.
Chairpersons of permanent Committees of Budget and Finance, Industry and Mining, Health and Social Affairs at the House of Peoples Representatives, Ministerial offices and other stakeholders have got enough information regarding the sector’s problems and promised to necessary support. In the meantime, the manufacturing sector pledged to cover 15 % of this budget year’s local demand of medicines and medicinal equipment by working dedicatedly.
The Ministry of Health with the cooperation of the Armauer Hansen Research Institute and other bodies established forum and pledged to continue their support to the sector. It will also support to enhance the quality of medicines and medical equipment to reach to the level of international standard and their curing capacity will be ensured, the State Minister of Health said.
The Ethiopian Herald October 27/2022
