The government gave priority to concrete, not health.

With the effect of the drug exchange rate update only once a year, one of the four drugs cannot be found at this time, and it was noted that the exchange rate update to contractors was increased from once a year to three or four times. one year.

Although the euro rate, which is used as the basis for drug prices in Turkey, is updated once a year in February, it has been updated twice this year, but this update, which is not enough, causes a drug shortage in the market, and patients are looking for prescription drugs in their hands.

By now, the lack of medicines has extended to children’s syrups and antibiotics after antihypertensives, sugar and antineoplastics.

The fact that there is still a problem that endangers public health and that a solution has not been presented, reminded of the support that has been given to the construction sector.

The Ministry of the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change updated the construction unit prices, which are closely related to the contractors that will enter public bidding, three times this year due to the increase in costs.

In addition, the foreign exchange earnings guarantees of bridges and roads built with public-private cooperation were updated twice last year, while this year there were four updates.

THE MINISTRY ANNOUNCES THAT IT WILL BE ACTIVE BUT THE DATE IS UNCERTAIN

According to the information obtained by the AA correspondent from the Ministry of Finance and Finance, the Ministry of Finance and Finance intervened when the problem of access to medicines increased.

In this sense, the ministry is preparing to advance the regulation of medicine prices, which is expected to be carried out in February, in order to support the supply, production and planning of the sector.

With this arrangement, an application will be implemented that will support the sector in terms of raw material supply, increased production costs and production planning, and citizens will be provided with timely access to medicines.

FROM THE TREASURY TO THE HIGHWAYS 76 BILLION TL IN 10 MONTHS

According to the public spending statistics announced by the General Directorate of Accounts of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the General Directorate of Highways spent TL 80.5 billion at the end of October, of the budget allocation, which was determined to be TL 85.3 billion TL in 2022 but increased to 98.5 billion TL. .

The Treasury transferred 76 billion TL to the budget of the Directorate General of Highways in the first 10 months of the year due to guarantee payments and an increase in the exchange rate.

54 BILLION TL FOR GUARANTEE PAYMENTS

Billions of lire are paid out to guarantees every month from the budget of the General Directorate of Highways.

According to the data announced in the Plan and Budget Commission, where the budget of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure was discussed, TL 54 billion were allocated to public-private cooperation projects within the budget of the General Directorate of Highways.

In other words, 54 billion TL was allocated for bridge and highway guarantee payments, which corresponds to approximately 3 billion USD.

‘THERE IS THE SOURCE BUT NOT THE HEALTH, CONCRETE’

Speaking to Sozcu.com.tr, the Head of the Department of Economics at Başkent University, Prof. Dr. Uğur Emek said that this year there are four updates to the foreign exchange earnings guarantees of bridges and roads built with public cooperation- private, and valued that “There are resources, but it is a matter of preference to give priority to the concrete ones”. , not health.”

“The SGK is financed with the budget, and the General Directorate of Highways… While they make an additional budget for someone and increase prices, the prices of medicines do not increase and that means that citizens cannot find drugs” said Prof. Dr. Emek continued:

“When we look at the requests made, it is observed that the resources are allocated to the desired places and the expenses are made. They issue currency protected deposits but when it comes to EYT members they calculate. This account is not made for contractors. In the same way, credits are increased in city hospitals, bridges are increased, payments are made in haggling-type tenders, but when it comes to agriculture, medicine and EYT affiliates, it is not done. It’s a matter of preference.”

THE MINISTER SAID ‘WE WILL SOLVE IT’ BUT THE INDUSTRY IS REACTIVE: THE SUGGESTIONS WERE NOT ADDRESSED

On the other hand, the Minister of Health, Fahrettin Koca, made a statement two days ago about the lack of medicines: “We cannot deny that there are medicines on the market that are felt to be lacking. We are aware of the problem and we have a solution. Be happy. We do not leave medication for our patients. We will resolve the issue as soon as possible,” he said.

Speaking to Sozcu.com.tr, the president of the Ankara Chamber of Pharmacists, Taner Ercanlı, stressed that the current shortage of medicines is not a one-day problem, but rather due to incorrect pricing policies applied in the medications to date, and said:

“We have been saying for years that the drug price update should be distributed throughout the year and updated 3 or 4 times. Even this will not solve the lack of medicines, but it will reduce it,” Ercanlı said, adding, “This problem would not have grown so much if the solution suggestions had been taken into account.”

‘PATIENTS SEE THE PHARMACEUTICAL PRESCRIPTION IN THEIR HANDS’

Reporting that the shortage of medicines has exceeded 25 percent at the moment and has extended to children’s syrups, Ercanlı said, “At the moment, there are problems in all categories of medicines, especially in children’s syrups, antibiotics , blood pressure and cancer drugs, and drugs used in IVF treatment, and now there is a shortage of this drug has reached serious proportions. The queues that form during the seizures at pharmacies are incredible. “Patients are looking for medications visiting the pharmacy with prescriptions in hand,” he said.

‘NEW DRUGS CANNOT COME TO TURKEY’

Emphasizing that the lack of medicines not only covers the lack of certain medicines, Ercanlı also informed that some medicines that were recently developed and started to be used in treatment in the world cannot reach Turkey and stressed that patients are deprived of these. meds as well.

THE ‘HIGH RISE’ EXPECTATION OF COMPANIES IS ALSO EFFECTIVE

According to Ercanlı, another reason underlying the continued shortage of medicines is the demand for a salary increase from industrialists.

Stating that the drug price decree, which will be updated in February, may be delayed due to a lack of drugs, Ercanlı said that there is information such as “That is why drugs are limited to the market”. Apart from this, foreign companies are reducing or stopping imports due to the insufficiency of the current exchange rate. This is causing a loss,” he said.

THE PHARMACISTS SAID: THEN WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

So what should be done to solve the drug shortage?

Ercanlı explained that the first thing that should be done in the short term is to increase the issue of drugs to at least 3-4 times a year, in addition, the drug alert system should be activated and the necessary studies should be carried out to alarm when the drugs fall below a certain stock level.

Ercanlı had this to say about what needs to be done in the long term:

“On a box basis, about 87 percent of the drug is produced domestically, but this rate corresponds to only 50 percent on a TL basis. Unfortunately, 93 percent of the raw materials of this 87 percent are imported. As long as this foreign dependency exists, this problem will continue.

It is necessary to grant the drug the status of strategic product. A separate policy should be determined, such as the defense industry. Otherwise, we will have these problems all the time. Apart from this, we must be able to produce high-tech medicines in the country.

In other words, in the long term, national production must be increased with a State policy that grants strategic importance to the development of raw materials, excipients, drug packaging, and new drug molecules.”

Speaking to Sozcu.com.tr, Istanbul Chamber of Pharmacists President Pınar Özcan said that there should be a pricing system other than exchange rate updating on pharmaceuticals as a solution; He emphasized that indexing prices to foreign currency would create similar problems in the future, saying:

“Even once or three times a year, as the price update date approaches, the problem of drug availability increases. This configuration must change completely.”