Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (Retd) Maqbool Baqar has said that the main function of the Sindh Food Authority is to ensure that food consumed in the society is safe, hygienic, and maintained with the highest standards of quality, but the food authority has failed to perform. He directed the Food Authority director general to work out a comprehensive inspection, and operational plan within two weeks, share it with his secretariat and then keep posting regular performance reports. He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting of the Sindh Food Authority here at the CM House.
The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam, Secretary Food Nasir Abbas Soomro, DG Food Authority Agha Fakhar, Secretary Planning Asghar Memon, and other concerned officers. The CM said that food safety, quality and hygiene were not maintained in government hospitals, private hospitals, medical colleges and even Ice factories, sweets and bakers and milk producers/sellers and slaughterhouses were not following the law. “It was the maintain function of the food authority to inspect them and ensure safety and quality,” he said and directed the authority officers to be active and work hard. The chief minister directed the chief secretary to keep an eye on the performance of the food authority and make it functional in the interest of the general public.
He also directed him (CS) to review the issues of the SFA and resolve them so that it could function to its capacity. Justice Baqar said that he had received reports that the mineral water companies, particularly the locals were not following the law to maintain the quality.
Similarly, open oil and ghee are sold in the market without adopting the required safety and quality measures. On complaints, the Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice Maqbool Baqar has said that there is no shortage of Insulin (Anti Diabetic), Anti-Rabies Vaccine (ARV) and Anti-Hypertensive Drugs in the province and directed the health department to ensure their availability in every government hospital for the concerned patient. “I will not tolerate if any patient suffered due to artificial shortage or black marketing of the medicines,” he told the health department.
The Chief Minister had received a complaint that there was an acute shortage of Insulin, ARV and antihypertensive drugs in the government hospitals and even in the market. The CM in the light of the complaint got a detailed report about the available stock of the medicines in the government hospital and in the market. The health dept told the CM that 2,955 vials, 84252 vials of Insulin and 2003,967 packs of anti-hypertensive were available in the government hospitals stocks and government hospitals.
The report regarding the availability of the said medicines in the open market said that 187,138 packs of anti-hypertensive drugs, 20,700 vials of Anti-Rabies Vaccine and 23,486 vials /pens of Insulin (Anti-Diabetics) were available in the open market. The report said that two companies, M/s. Getz Pharma and M/s. Elli Lilly Pakistan were producing Insulin. One of the companies, M/s. Getz Pharma informed the health department that they were producing Insulin in sufficient numbers keeping in view the market demand while the other company, M/s. Elli Lilly was of the view that the company was facing a problem relating to the import of Insulin due to a delay in the approval letter of import from DRAP Islamabad.
The CM took up the matter with DRAP authorities and urged them to ensure timely approval of import letters so that patients may not suffer. The report said that as far as the anti-rabies Vaccine (ARV) was concerned, it was an imported item, besides, the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad was the only institute throughout Pakistan which was producing ARV.
According to the report, the generation capacity of NIH is not sufficient to cater timely needs of hospitals. The chief minister also talked to the federal government to ensure the availability of ARVs in the market.
