Appropriate quality control, well placed safety monitoring practices and creating public awareness is needed to combat the menace of unsafe drugs and medical devices. Expressing serious concern over the fact that this menace has reached alarming proportions, the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, Dr. Justice A.S. Anand has warned that the problem of unsafe and substandard drugs is a reality, which cannot be brushed under the carpet. In his interaction with health officials from the Centre and State, drug controllers and NGOs in a recent meeting in Delhi, he highlighted their impact of spurious drugs on people who become hapless consumers.
Justice Anand said that unsafe and spurious drugs worsened malnutrition, lack of primary health care and anaemia. Pointing out that the drugs are under the control of the State authorities, Justice Anand wanted to know whether the mechanism that exists at present is adequate and satisfactory. Referring to the long chain of manufacturer-middlemen-retailer-consumer, he wanted to know what control was being exercised at the stage of manufacture and at other stages. He also wanted to know how many licenses of retailers were cancelled, how many prosecutions launched and how many such units were closed during the last one year.
Expressing concern over the different licensing procedures followed in states, Justice Anand asked the participants whether a model licensing system of procedure could be sent to the States. He emphasized the need for necessary political will to plug loopholes in the legislation and the issue of unsafe drugs and medical devices, he said should not be viewed as a Centre-State issue but an issue of Human Rights.
It was decided at the meeting that a small group could be constituted to go into the ways and means to tackle the menace of unsafe drugs and medical devices and give its report to the Commission.