Islamabad:  Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry is unable to replenish the need and demand for essential life-saving drugs and medical instruments as the nation is struggling through a rough phase of economic crisis, as per the report of Express Tribune. 

As per the website, Pakistan is facing a number of challenges and crises on the national level along with economic calamity, which holds a variety of reasons behind it, such as the refusals from the commercial banks to provide Letters of Credit (LCs) on account of the shortage of US dollars which have directly impacted pharmaceutical companies.   

In addition, drug companies have been unable to fulfil the demand and maintain stocks of life-saving drugs and medicines. Industry experts have warned that the nation’s economy is near sinking and paralysis. 

‘’The top pharmaceuticals organizations have been facing adverse situations to import raw materials for medicine manufacturing by which they have been forced to cut the production which affects the life of patients at health care centres’’ said Express Tribune report.  

Furthermore, the crisis in Pakistan occurred as the foreign exchange reserves reached a record low figure of USD 4.3 billion. Their conversation with the IMF (International Monetary fund) organization hangs in between. 

According to recent reports, the country is struggling to import basic raw materials, active ingredients of medicines and essential drugs, several vaccines, and biological products to cure cancer and other severe diseases. 

The reports have also conveyed that the hospitals in Pakistan have only left with less than two weeks of anaesthetics, an essential part of sensitive surgeries. The left stock is predicted to last only four to five weeks. 

The health care authorities and stakeholders have reached out to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shahbaz Sharif, along with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, to come forward and resolve the issue and call on the state banks with commercial banks for this, as per sources. 

In the end, Pakistan’s medical and pharmaceutical companies have predicted and warned that the current economic crises could result in further complications as the required raw materials have been held up at the Karachi port due to the shortage of US dollars to pay for them. ‘’The items has been stuck in shipping containers with essential food and other items for several weeks now,’’ said reports.