JEDDAH, 23 April 2008 — Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie yesterday announced his ministry’s plan to reduce prices of medicines used for treating chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension.
He made the announcement during a meeting with Dr. Bandar Al-Hajjar, president of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR). He said the price cut would come into effect within days.
According to a previous statement made by the minister, prices of 1,400 medicines in the Kingdom were to drop by 3.5 to 27 percent from Feb. 1, 2008. But pharmacists said so far there had been no change in prices, except for a few medicines.
The price cut was expected following the establishment of a national company for the unified purchase of medicines and medical equipment.
Saudi Arabia is one of the largest markets for medicines in the Middle East.
The NSHR chief raised a number of issues related to health services during his meeting with the minister. He emphasized the need for providing specialized health services in all regions of the Kingdom. At present some regions lack advanced health facilities, forcing their patients to travel to major cities for treatment.
Al-Hajjar called for measures to reduce medical mistakes, which have been increasing lately. He urged the ministry to provide public hospitals and health centers with qualified personnel and ensure adequate supply of medicines. He also recommended that research centers be set up in regions where contagious diseases are endemic.
The NSHR delegation led by Al-Hajjar brought the minister’s attention to other important issues, such as poor facilities and services at public hospitals, shortage of manpower at clinics and hospitals in remote areas and poor quality of services being provided to prisoners, AIDS victims and psychiatric patients.
Al-Manie told the NSHR delegation that his ministry was committed to addressing the issues they raised as quickly as possible. He also underlined the problems being faced by the ministry including lack of funds, low salaries of employees and difficulty in utilizing budget allocations.
Al-Manie spoke about his efforts to operate King Fahd Medical City in Riyadh and his plans to establish specialized hospitals in different regions, prepare a comprehensive health data of citizens and residents and set up primary health care centers with modern facilities. He urged the Finance Ministry to make necessary financial allocations to complete health projects in various parts of the Kingdom.
Health allocations in the Kingdom account for only six percent of the general budget whereas in Europe and some other Gulf countries it amounts for 14 percent, Al-Hajjar said. “So we call upon the Finance Ministry to increase financial allocations for health projects and services.”
