GARDEZ (SW) – A number of Paktia residents have expressed concerns that some doctors and pharmacists are selling substandard drugs to patients that are harming patients instead of treating them.
According to them, some traders bring low-quality medicines from certain companies to Paktia and sell them to people through pharmacies and drugstores.
Residents of Paktia added that these companies take doctors who sell more drugs abroad for entertainment in a bid to lure them into this trade.
Mohammad Aman, a patient in Paktia, said he has been suffering from stomach ailments for a year and is taking stomach medicine, but these drugs have not been of any use so far.
Patients in Paktia say many pharmacies pay a percentage of income to doctors, and doctors affiliated with Pakistani and Iranian companies are urging them to reduce the price and down grade the quality of medicine in a bid for more sales.
Paktia residents are urging local officials in the province to stop substandard and outdated drugs from distribution.
Khaleqiar Ahmadzai, Paktia’s director of information and culture, said companies involved in such affairs Gardez and other districts in the province had been shut down. According to him, seven companies in the city of Gardez that were selling substandard drugs to pharmacies were closed two weeks ago.
The head of information and culture of Paktia added that the public health department of the province has started a serious fight against low-quality medicines and so far 10 pharmacies have been closed in Gardez city.
Paktia shares a 42-kilometer border with Pakistan in the southeast of the country, and most of the drugs enter the province through this route irregularly. In addition, the lack of quality control of drugs in Paktia has also provided the basis for the sale of substandard drugs here.
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