PM holds meeting to follow up on availability of medicine in Egyptian market

Ali Al-Ghamrawi, Chairman of the Egyptian Drug Authority, announced the Authority's success in ensuring the availability of approximately 95% of Egyptian medicines in the market, which has effectively restored the situation to pre-shortage levels.

This statement was made during a meeting led by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who emphasized the importance of adopting generic names for medications instead of brand names. This shift is seen as a way to facilitate the availability of alternative medicines and meet the needs of citizens more efficiently.

Bahaa El-Din Zidan, Head of the Egyptian Unified Procurement Authority (UPA), highlighted the Authority's efforts in implementing a unified procurement strategy to strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain. He also discussed the importance of maintaining a strategic reserve to meet the country's short-term pharmaceutical needs and improving the supply of raw materials to support local drug manufacturing. This initiative includes technology transfer aimed at developing a robust and sustainable pharmaceutical industry in Egypt.

Additionally, Mohamed Abdel Qawi, Secretary General of the UPA, presented a report detailing the coordination between various entities to secure essential pharmaceutical products and the inputs necessary for local drug production. The report also covered efforts to ensure the availability of other medical supplies, vaccines, blood derivatives, infant formula, and specialized medical and laboratory equipment.