Health Minister Harini Amarasuriya’s memorandum submitted to the cabinet to obtain 305 types of drugs from local drug manufacturers for the year 2025 has been rejected for the second time, so there is a risk of drug shortage in hospitals.
The Cabinet meeting chaired by President Anura Dissanayake was held the Cabinet Memorandum to which the Ministry of Health had decided to obtain medicines through a new method by changing the methods obtained so far from the local manufacturers of medicines needed for the coming year. Under the new program, an eight percent price reduction has also been made in purchasing medicines from local drug manufacturers.
The manufacturers have informed the Ministry of Health that they will not be able to supply the medicines by January due to the fact that they have not yet given bulk orders to the local manufacturers to supply the necessary medicines for the next year.