President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed the Ministry of Health to expedite the approval process for drugs endorsed by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

The Head of State issued these directives in response to the drug shortage caused by existing procedures, the President’s Media Division (PMD) reported.

Accordingly, the Health Ministry was ordered to expedite the approval process for drugs endorsed by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), and were also asked to look into the possibility of directly ordering FDA- and UK-approved drugs, without going through the existing NMRA process.

Meanwhile, the Ministry was also asked to propose amendments to the NMRA Act which would enable swift action to be taken in the event any obstacles arise pertaining to the importing of medication.

Earlier today (14 July), President Wickremesinghe instructed the Ministry to extend the retirement age of doctors to 63, until the end of 2024.

He also noted that the Ministry must ensure that there is no delay in people receiving medicinal drugs and, emphasising that it is required for all available medicinal drugs in the country.

He stressed that all Health Ministry-run websites must indicate the total amount of medicinal drugs available as well as the amount available in each hospital, adding that the networking system will enable the exchange of medicinal drugs between hospitals.