ISLAMABAD: The Heal­thcare Devices Association (HDA) has warned the relevant authorities of disruption of medical and surgical treatment facilities across the country after the recent restriction making registration with the Drug Regula­tory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) mandatory for the import of medical and surgical equipment.

“Drap has not been able to make decisions on most of the registration applicati­ons submitted over the past several years and so far, only about 3,000 applicati­ons have been dealt with, while the number of medical items used in Pakistan are more than 300,000. Drap exten­d­ed the time for registration through SRO 526 till Dece­mber 31, 2022, after which all unregistered medical devices and laboratory tests cannot be impor­ted legally and sold from Jan­uary 1, 2023,” said senior vice chairman of the association Adnan Ahmed Siddiqui.

Fear of a serious crisis in the provision of medical fac­i­lities was looming, he said. “As the discontinuation of medical facilities and life-saving surgeries has started in Pakistan, the lives of countless individuals are at risk. The lack of access to necessary healthcare is a devastating reality for many in the country,” he stated.

According to him, due to the ban on the import of medical and surgical equipment and machinery, crisis in the provision of medical facilities may worsen in coming days.

He said Drap had made the registration of medical devices mandatory after which the import policy was made subject to a Drap certificate.

Also, he said, there were issues related to opening of LCs at local banks due to foreign exchange despite State Bank of Pakistan’s direction to banks to prioritise payments of pharmaceuticals and surgical items/medical devices and diagnostic products.

As a result, imports were almost at halt, Mr Siddiqui said, mentioning that medical devices include items used for lab tests and surgery as well as other equipment used in hospitals.

“Medical devices range from syringes, cannulas, blood sugar, and blood pressure measuring devices to ultrasound, X-ray, CT scan, and MRI machines, and without medical devices, no hospital can provide healthcare facilities. [As] 90 per cent of the medical devices used in Pakistan’s hospitals are imported, due to the stoppage of imports, the process of providing health treatment in hospitals has started to stop,” he said.

Mr Siddiqui said: “Drap, federal health department, and other top officials are aware of the matter. If these issues are not resolved immediately, the matter may turn into a serious humanitarian crisis.” There was a serious fear of disruption of the provision of medical facilities and equipment for life-saving surgeries across the country, he added.

If the relevant institutions did not take immediate steps to allay those concerns, the crisis in the supply of medical facilities and surgical equipment would deepen in the coming days, he said.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2023