COPA highlights quality failures in drugs from 2011 to 2020

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – From 2011 to 2020, the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) revealed that Rs.6,259 million worth of pharmaceuticals failed to meet quality standards due to poor storage.

According to the COPA investigation, 99 percent of the medications had already been delivered to the patients before the problem was discovered. The cost of quality failed pharmaceuticals cannot be recovered from suppliers in this case. As a result, the Parliament Communication Division said that the Committee on Public Accounts has asked the Health and Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Ministries to speed up the process of facilitating drug storage to assure the safety of the drugs to be used.

The temperature in the Medical Supplies Division’s warehouses was not regulated adequately, and medical supplies were stored in the corridors of central drug warehouses and hospitals.

Furthermore, the Secretary to the Ministry has stated that if a system is in place to detect drug failure as soon as it is received, the loss can be recovered from the suppliers’ guarantee, and if the State Pharmaceutical Corporation can conduct quality testing on 60 drugs, this situation can be avoided to some extent. These issues and observations were included in the COPA Committee’s first report for the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament, which was just, May 20, by the Committee on Public Accounts Chairman (Prof.) Tissa Vitharana.

This report contains information on the investigations of 7 Government Institutions summoned before the Committee on Public Accounts and one Special Audit Report during the period from August 4, 2021, to November 11, 2021.