Following Panadol shortage, patients who rely on insulin to maintain their blood sugar levels or diabetes are facing a similar dilemma.
According to medical experts, people with type 1 and occasionally type 2 diabetes need insulin to maintain their blood sugar levels and avoid additional issues associated with a chronic disease that alters how the body converts food into energy. As a result, the lack of supply at pharmacies has caused alarm among millions of people across the country.
Dr. Azhar Chaudhary, president of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), argues that the government is at fault for the widespread scarcity of insulin and that insulin is like oxygen for diabetics.
He said that if the government had permitted pharmaceutical businesses to open letters of credit (LCs) on schedule, the crisis could have been avoided.
He went on to say that this caused a lack of raw materials, which reduced medicine output. As a result, pharmacists have stockpiled the remaining products in order to demand higher prices.
Muhammad Nabi, a pharmacist in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) capital, confirmed Khan’s claims, saying that some pharmacies were stockpiling the medicine and charging high prices for it. Nabi went on to say that it was clear that the provincial drug regulating authorities had no intention of prosecuting such sellers.
