PESHAWAR: The livestock and fisheries department has introduced a new procurement framework for veterinary medicines, vaccines and nutraceuticals, saying the initiative will ensure quality, transparency, scientific need assessment, real-time availability and complete traceability of supplies from procurement to final utilisation in the field.

Officials told Dawn that the introduction of the new framework marked a major shift from conventional procurement practices towards a structured, evidence-based and digitised system for the purchase, distribution and use of veterinary medicines and vaccines across the province.

They said the new procurement regime had been introduced after the detection of irregularities in the previous procurements of veterinary medicines and vaccines.

The officials said under the initiative, the department had notified different technical and need-based committees to ensure that procurement is no longer carried out on guesswork, outdated demand patterns or discretionary recommendations. Instead, the demand will now be generated through scientific, field-based and verifiable inputs.

Officials insist documentation, digitisation of all matters will greatly reduce possibility of manipulation

According to them, a high-level veterinary drugs and medicines and vaccine formulary committee has been set up to recommend generic formulae, ingredients and combinations of medicines, nutraceuticals and vaccines on the basis of safety, efficacy, quality, shelf life, dosage requirements, manufacturer reputation and relevant regulatory standards.

It will also recommend specifications, formulations, strength, potency, storage requirements, cold chain protocols and quality standards for medicines and vaccines to be procured.

Besides the formulary committee, a strong centralised need assessment committee has also been notified. That committee will assess the actual requirement of medicines and vaccines on the basis of animal population, disease prevalence, seasonal disease patterns, budget availability, field requirements, potential outbreaks and technical inputs from the districts.

The officials said in order to make the process more realistic and field-oriented, district-wise need assessment committees had also been introduced.

They said those committees included grassroots veterinary officers, field formations and relevant technical experts, so that demand is generated from the actual service delivery level instead of being imposed from above.

The officials said the new procurement framework also introduced a digitised mechanism for utilisation and traceability of medicines and vaccines.

They said through the department’s digital system, medicines and vaccines would be tracked from the stage of procurement and supply order to receipt, storage, distribution and final utilisation in the field.

The officials said each medicine and vaccine item would be linked with a proper record of batch number, expiry date, quantity, supplier, receiving office, storage point and issuing authority.

They said that the new system would help monitor stock availability in real time at provincial, district and facility levels. This will allow the department to identify shortages, overstocking, near-expiry items and unusual consumption patterns.

The officials said a major feature of the new mechanism was traceability from the central store down to the end user.

“Medicines and vaccines will be tracked through digital stock ledgers, QR or barcode-based records and office-wise inventory dashboards. This will make it possible to know where a particular batch of medicine was received, how much was transferred, which office used it, and for what purpose,” an official said.

He also said the utilisation of medicines would be linked with field service delivery.

“When a veterinary doctor provides treatment to an animal, the medicine issued will be recorded digitally against the farmer, animal, doctor, office and treatment details. This will help ensure that medicines are not only procured and stored, but are actually used for the benefit of livestock farmers.”

The officials also said vaccines and temperature-sensitive items would be monitored with specific focus on cold chain, storage and handling requirements.

They said the framework required proper attention to vaccine potency, protective dose, disease prevalence and storage conditions so that farmers received effective and safe vaccines.

The officials said the new regime was also designed as a strong preventive measure against pilferage, wastage, fake demand, non-standard procurement, kickbacks and misuse of public resources.

They said since demand assessment, technical specifications, procurement, stock movement and utilisation would all be documented and digitised, the possibility of manipulation would be greatly reduced.

The officials said the framework further strengthened accountability by separating different stages of the procurement cycle.

They said need assessment would be carried out by technical and field committees; formulation and specifications would be recommended by the formulary committee; procurement would be conducted under rules; quality assurance and inspection would be ensured before acceptance, and distribution and utilisation would be monitored through the digital system.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2026