A country that does not produce its own drugs faces two fundamental challenges which must be addressed by its policy makers and policy implementing agents. First and foremost, they must ensure that pharmaceutical products that are imported are safe to be consumed.
Secondly they must ensure availability, accessibility and affordability of the products.
Any failure in addressing these two fundamental conditions will result in suffering and death.
Hence the guiding norm in operating the pharmaceutical sector is to value and save life at all times and at all cost. There should be no compromise on this norm. Medicine is a humane profession and those who diagnose and prescribe pharmaceutical products as well as those who deliver the products are supposed to be guided by the desire to ensure the protection of healthy minds and healthy bodies.
Hence as the country faces challenges of death due to contaminated medicinal products its officials should not be panic stricken and take any measures that are counter-productive. Instead all stakeholders should come around the table and put all the pieces together so as not to do more harm than good, just for the sake of being seen to be doing something.
