In January 2018, just as the Supreme Court of Pakistan, then led by Justice Saqib Nisar, was seized of the matter of high prices of cardiac stents, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan struck the public a hard blow by allowing the prices of essential life-saving drugs to be raised by 15 per cent. The decision was taken with the approval of the federal government. The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services Regulation has now spoken of the citizens’ concerns with regard to the exorbitant hike. Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh, the committee chairman, who belongs to the Treasury, did not try to defend the government and has instead requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to look into the issue.
The committee, which met on Friday, has yet to hear out the Minister for National Health Services Regulations and Coordination Aamir Mehmood Kiyani who was to brief the meeting about the rationale behind the price raise. It is for the first time that the forum has taken up the issue. Earlier, an association representing the doctors, had decried the announcement, saying “It was very distressing that instead of providing any relief to the people, the government raised the drug prices despite the fact that they were already unaffordable”.
Too often, public misery translates into a boon for health service providers. Too frequently, powerful stakeholders, including pharmacists, private hospital owners, doctors and medical colleges prevail upon governments. The patients remain voiceless. The health services sector has became a goldmine for the unscrupulous. Service standards at public hospitals have suffered on account of unprofessional conduct of doctors, crowding, staff shortages and lack of accountability. This has allowed private hospitals to flourish.
No wonder, the former chief justice won public approval for his health-related actions. His inspection of public hospitals, his raids at private hospitals and his orders for cutting down the prices of cardiac devices were all welcome. In the end, however, judges’ interference in the regulators’ work cannot be a healthy sign.
The job belongs to the public representatives. It is hoped that the Senate committee will take up the issue with the minister concerned and hold him accountable. *