Sri Lanka President directs Treasury to release money without limit to purchase drugs

Sri Lanka Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena announced that the President had directed the Treasury to release money without a limit to purchase medicine for government hospitals.

The government has spent Rs. 16 billion for purchasing drugs for the government hospitals during the first six months of year 2011 alone, said the Minister of Health.

The Minister further stated that the government would not call for tenders from the private companies for purchasing drugs. Instead the Ministry of Health will directly purchase drugs from the governments of India and Bangladesh, he said.

The Minister stated that the shortage of drugs that prevailed in state hospitals in the past was a result of disorder in the process of purchasing drugs.