Allocated Rs. 181 Bn not required for medicine purchases in 2024 – GMOA

Government Medical Officers’ Association Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge yesterday said that Rs.181 billion have been allocated through this year’s budget for the procurement of medicines.

“No such amount has been allocated on any day in history. We believe that this amount of money is not required for the procurement of medicines,” Dr. Aluthge said. He was addressing a press conference in Karapitiya, Galle yesterday (7).

“We can save part of the money allocated for the procurement of medicines. Last year, the money allocated for the procurement was stolen. Thirty to forty billion rupees went to corruption and fraud in emergency purchases. The government and the people lost that money.

“We believe that we can have a good journey with the new Health Minister. We, as the Government Medical Officers’ Association, met the Minister on several occasions. It has not been long since the Minister was appointed. First of all, we congratulated someone who has some understanding of the health sector as a Minister.

“We have many problems that need urgent attention. There are many burning problems that have to be solved immediately like the shortage of medicine issue.There are problems related to human resources due to equipment breakdowns. Doctors are leaving the country. There are many such issues that need to be addressed without further delay.

“It will not be possible to solve all the problems at once. Especially the medicine shortage problem is something that is connected with people’s lives. Human resource management is a must. The minister agreed to discuss with the President to establish a specific system in order to retain the doctors in the country. We are ready to give our maximum contribution for that.

“Regarding the medicine issue, a large amount of money has been allocated through the budget this year towards that. An amount of Rs.181 billion has been allocated for the procurement of medicines. Never in history has such an amount been allocated before. We believe that this amount of money will not be required. We will be able to save some amount of this money that is allocated towards procurement of medicines,” he said.

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