IT is unfortunate that the government has failed to address even a few of the numerous public health challenges that the country faces.

The sufferers are, of course, the people, in particular those who are financially underprivileged. Consider an issue that has been building up for years: the shortage of drugs on the market because of a stand-off between the government and the pharmaceutical industry.

The former wants to keep prices as low as possible — partly because taking an unpopular step and raising prices could have a negative impact on the electoral fortunes of the rulers.

Meanwhile, the pharmaceuticals maintain that given that prices are artificially being kept low, it is becoming unviable to manufacture and supply certain drugs. As reported by this paper yesterday, some 70 to 80 medicines, 50 of which are categorised as essential, are no longer available because of the federal government’s failure to address the pricing issue.

Alarm has repeatedly been raised by health professionals and forums such as the human rights cell of the Supreme Court, but the response of the authorities including the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has been to simply deny that the problem exists.

Apart from the immediate suffering of people in need of these medicines, the situation holds grave long-term implications as well.

Amongst the drugs that are no longer available, for example, are those required to treat complicated cases of TB.

This is already a serious public health issue, and the current crisis could exacerbate the problem of multi-drug resistant TB, creating a situation that will be even harder to rectify.

Similarly, the inexpensive folic acid — which is vital for the health of pregnant women and their unborn babies — has also disappeared from the market.

While the well-off can afford imported versions, for the majority of the population this raises the spectre of a generation whose in utero development has been compromised. And yet the authorities refuse to be awakened from their slumber. What will it take for them to take action?

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2016