Focus on domestic production of medicines: Usmani

KABUL’s economy and pledged to facilitate local drugs manufacturing.

This was stated by Acting Health Minister Ahmad Jawad Usmani while addressing a gathering marking World’s Pharmacy Day.

The minister termed the role of pharmacists as vital in the medical sector and added that the lack of medicines and its unbalanced prices posed challenges which the ministry was striving to resolve.

He said: “Annually $400 to $500 million are spent on the import of medicines from outside which is a setback to the national economy. We are trying to felicitate domestic production of drugs.”

Dr. Abdul Karim Totakhel, representative of the Administrative Affairs Office, said there was need for more support to the pharmacy.

Dr. Mohammad Zakfar, head of the Afghanistan Pharmacists Union (AFU), said pharmacy was an important field of study with regard to treatment of patients and asked the Ministry of Public Health to support capacity building of local pharmacists.

He said annually 600 pharmacists graduated from Kabul and as many from private universities.

Nh/ma