{"id":13745,"date":"2025-11-05T15:30:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/act-to-curb-medicine-prices-now\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T15:30:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:30:58","slug":"act-to-curb-medicine-prices-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/act-to-curb-medicine-prices-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Act to Curb Medicine Prices Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services has issued a stern warning over rising medicine prices<\/strong>, pressing the Ministry to justify production costs and wage increases so ordinary citizens do not bear an undue financial burden. Committee members made clear that investor confidence and fair business margins are important, but affordability of essential medicines must not be compromised.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers demanded greater transparency in the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan’s pricing process, urging strengthened oversight of the Standing Committee on Registration and a thorough review of research and development claims to prevent arbitrary price hikes. Members warned that unchecked revisions risk pushing lifesaving drugs out of reach for low-income households across Pakistan.<\/p>\n

During consideration of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2025, Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur welcomed the committee’s approach and signalled support for its recommendations, while the Minister for National Health Services cautioned that abrupt regulatory changes could destabilise the national pharmaceutical industry. The Minister stressed the need for a balanced transition to ensure continuity and protect local manufacturers and supply chains.<\/p>\n

Chairman Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti emphasised that the proposed amendments carry nationwide implications and called for a structured, phased reform process. The Minister committed to presenting a comprehensive policy roadmap that will incorporate feedback from all stakeholders, including industry representatives and the incoming government, to ensure measured implementation that safeguards patients and producers alike.<\/p>\n

On polio eradication, Senator Syed Masroor Ahsan raised concern over continued detection of poliovirus despite repeated vaccination drives. The Minister pointed to poor sanitation, unsafe drinking water and contaminated sewage systems in Karachi, Lahore and southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as factors sustaining transmission, noting that vaccination alone cannot eliminate the virus unless environmental and infrastructural causes are addressed.<\/p>\n

Chairman Chishti urged collective responsibility and accountability at the district level, calling for close coordination among local governments, elected representatives, religious leaders and community organisations. He proposed that district parliamentarians produce public awareness videos in regional languages to counter misinformation and build trust in immunisation efforts.<\/p>\n

The Committee also confronted serious irregularities at the National Council for Homeopathy, demanding immediate action against fake homeopathic practitioners and unauthorised establishments. The Chairman insisted on swift curriculum and regulatory reforms, warning that the matter will be taken up again if decisive measures are not implemented within days. The Minister assured members that reforms are under way and will be executed without delay.<\/p>\n

Those present included Senators Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, Rubina Khalid, Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan, Dilawar Khan and Syed Masroor Ahsan, along with the Minister for National Health Services and senior officials from the concerned departments. The Committee made it clear it will continue to hold the Ministry accountable on medicine prices and broader healthcare oversight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senate committee pushes action on medicine prices, polio accountability and homeopathy reforms to protect patients and ensure transparency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":13744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}