Afghanistan’s annual drug import bill $760mn: Umar

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Afghanistan’s annual medicine consumption has reached $1 billion and 25 percent of the medicines are produced domestically, an official said on Monday.

Abdul Bari Umar, head of the Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority (AFDA), said this during the inauguration ceremony of the authority’s branch office in Balkh province.

He said Afghanistan’s annual drug consumption stood at $1 billion 25 percent of the demand is met by local production while the remaining demand is addressed by drug import.

He said annually the people of Afghanistan spent $760 million on drugs while food consumption part is two times higher.

He said currently, 67 drug production factories are functional in the country’s and five more large factories would be opened in the near future.

Umar said in the past two years the countries drug production capacity had increased from two percent to 25 percent and this year Afghanistan exported Serum to Iraq.

He said talks with Yemen, Egypt and Uzbekistan were underway and Afghanistan’s drugs would be exported to these countries in the near future as well.

Governor Mohammad Yousuf Wafa has asked businessmen to prevent the import of low-quality drugs.

He said the security situation is well-improved in Afghanistan asking the industrialists and businessmen to invest in the country and develop the industrial sector.

Shah Wali Hasanzada, deputy head of the Drug Dealers Union in Balkh assured that drug dealers would not allow the import of low-quality drugs and its distribution in the country.