KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) highlighted the global medicine supply shortage, stressing that there will be dire consequences if the situation is left uncorrected.
In a statement today, its president Dr Koh Kah Chai said that the insufficiency is partly caused by the high demand for common medications due to the spread of the Covid-19 variant Omicron.
Noting that pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers, and distributors globally were caught off guard by the “unprecedented demand”, he said that the issue has been ongoing since nations began easing on lockdown measures and resumed economic activities.
He added that while the industry in Malaysia responded to the situation by placing larger orders from product manufacturers overseas, local manufacturers scrambled to increase production capacities – which is dependent on raw material sourced from other countries.
“It is not a simple matter to increase local production just to address the shortfall of supplies in the market,” he said.
“Raw materials aside, manufacturing plants are built to certain specifications which may not allow any sudden and massive increase in production rates.”
Dr Koh added that the supply-and-demand situation of pharmaceuticals in the Malaysian market must be rectified soon to steer clear of compounding matters.
“If uncorrected, even the supply of previously unaffected medications will be disrupted,” he warned.
To avoid aggravating the situation, he advised, the public should avoid panic buying and unnecessarily hoarding medications that are not immediately needed. – The Vibes, June 2, 2022
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