Islamabad 21th May, 2016. A meeting of the Standing Committee on National Health Services Regulations and Coordination held today at 11:00am in Committee Room No 7, 4th Floor Parliament House, Islamabad under the Chairmanship of Mr. Khalid Hussain Magsi, MNA to discuss the following agenda:-

    i)    Price  hike  of  essential    medicines  and  measures  taken  to control the prices;
    ii)    Briefing/latest updates and progress achieved to control the HIV/Aids; and
    iii)    PM & DC status after the passage of the Bill.   

CEO DRAP, M/o National Health Services, Regulations    and Coordination  briefed  the  Committee  that  the  Ministry  had  provided  Policy mechanism that prices of those me icines will be reduced whose prices are cheaper in the neighboring countries but the companies did not implement to control over the prices of essential medicines and increased its prices illegally He also stated that court case was made. The Committee showed their dissatisfaction over the working and performance of DRAP and directed the CEO DRAP to control the prices of essential commodities as the medicines are very cheaper and provided to the patients at higher rates. The Committee urges to encourage generic companies but their medicines should not be sub-standard. The Committee also directed the Ministry to bring the medicines in registered pack instead lose packing. The Committee also directed the CEO DRAP to implement on the  recommendation  of  the  Sub-Committee  of the  Standing Committee  on • National Health Services, Regulat ions & Coordination under the Convener ship of Mr. Abdul Qahar Wadan on the issues of to look into the affairs, performance, future plans and employment of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) Pharmacy Council of Pakistan, population related policies & institutions and Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Pakistan.

The  Committee  further    directed  the  Ministry  to   provide these medicines to the patients in KPK and Punjab.The Committee further directed that these medicines should be available to the public in the Country at the time of making any system or mechanism to control the prices, the committee also directed to the Ministry to make legislation with the coordination of the Standing Committee to control the prices of essential medicines.

Director, Malaria programme apprise the  committee  that  samples are been taken in all the Provinces beside the Punjab to cure from the Malaria. The comm ittee urges to take more samples from other Districts of all the Provinces in the Country, committee also directed to the Club all the verticals programmes w ith Polio. Dr. Sufia, NACP, Senior Programme Officer apprise the committee there are sixteen thousand five  hundred  registered  patients  of HIV/A ids out of which three thousand seventy patients are  treated.  The Committee urges to put the addresses of HIV/Aids offices on website to be visible for the public. So that patients may easily approach.

Dr. Shabir Lehri, President, PMDC, Islamabad apprise the committee wh ile briefing on the  status  of  PMDC Bill that  affiliation of  PMDC was  the abolished in USA. On our request they extended the period of the one year so • that new reforms should be brought in PMDC Bill, he also apprise the committee the PMDC Bill was pass in the National Assembly of Pakistan and Senate of Pakistan, but it was send back to the National Assembly of Pakistan after the un passed lapse of the ninety days now it will appear in the Joint Session of the Parliament.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti, Dr. Muhammad Afzal Khan Dhandhla, Dr. Nisar Ahmed Jatt, Ms. Shaista Pervaiz, Ms. Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Dr. Muhammad Azhar Khan Jadoon, Col (Retd)  Dr. Amirullah Marwat, Qa ri Muhammad Yousaf, Syed Ghazi Ghulab Jamal and Mr. Abdul Qahar Khan  Wadan  MNAs,  beside  senior  officers  from Ministry of Health Services, Regulation and Coordination.