On Medicine Output

PROVEN allopathic medicines, because of their reliability based on extensive researches, have gained both praise and popularity among the general people and medical practitioners. The other reason for the excessive dependence on allopathic medicine stems from the fact that the herbal medicine produced in the country is insufficient to meet the demands. The challenges of the present day diseases, to a great extent, can be faced through the use of scientific medicine. Needless to say, thousands of patients and hundreds of doctors these days prefer to use or refer justified allopathic drugs to ayurvedic medicines. Thus, the demand for allopathic medicines is increasing every day and such medicines worth billions of rupees are imported into Nepal every year. Hundreds of hospitals and working medical practitioners here feel confident when prescribing such drugs because of their quality and reliability which are guaranteed by the respective manufacturers and drug control department of the country. However, it is a bitter fact to mention that heavy dependence on allopathic drugs by the Nepalese is causing a great financial strain on the nation. The drugs produced in the country by few manufacturers like Royal Drugs Limited and some private pharmaceutical companies is inadequate as per demands. Meanwhile, the sick people are multiplying their numbers due to ignorance, lack of knowledge regarding their food habits and the unhygienic places they live in. While the rest of the world is leaping forward in terms of public health, the country is still a home to many diseases of both nature– communicable as well as non-communicable.

The commitment of the government to make the country capable of manufacturing over 50 per cent of essential medicines deserves attention. Minister for Health Sharat Singh Bhandari while addressing a seminar, on "Opportunities and the Challenges for Pharmacists", the other day, disclosed that the government was working towards making the country self-reliant in essential medicines in the next few years. If the country produces essential medicines, no matter if it is produced at the public or private level, it will not only save billions of rupees that flows out every year in imports but also earn foreign currency by exporting the life saving drugs to other countries. Once the government endorses a bill concerning health institutions and a separate cell, which has already been established at the Health Ministry to look into the issues relating to drugs, starts functioning in full swing, such institutions will automatically be regulated for producing quality drugs and the public health sector of the country will get a face lift.

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