Federal Cabinet of Pakistan has decided to import polio markers from India in a bid to reduce the price of medicines. The Federal Cabinet took the decision to give a one-time permission for import of polio markers from India as it would reduce prices of 89 medicines by at least 15%.
The prices of 89 medicines were decreased in line with the Pricing Policy of 2018 as prices of innovator drugs have to be reduced by 10% after three years of their launch in the market. After considering all the aspects we decided to decrease the prices by 15%, said Dr. Rana Safdar, National coordinator of the Emergency Operation Centre for Polio.
Pakistan had suspended trade ties with India following New Delhi’s decision to abrogate Article 370 on August 5, 2019 to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. The markers used to mark the fingers of children after administering them polio vaccine are approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
There are only two WHO pre-qualified manufacturers in the world, India and China, which manufacture non-toxic markers to prevent children from swallowing the ink. Though WHO procures markers for us and, in the past, it had purchased markers from China, there were issues with the quality of markers. We had lodged a complaint that the marks faded before the post-monitoring team’s visit, Safdar added.
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