The national drug stock is subject to continuous and strict control on a weekly basis to ensure that the reserve stock of all essential drugs is respected and in order to intervene proactively and immediately in the event of problem or difficulties, assured Tuesday the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Ait Taleb.
In response to an oral question in the House of Councilors on “the noted shortage of antidiabetics in certain health centers in Marrakech”, posed by the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) group, Ait Taleb insisted that local manufacturers manufacturing medicines are required to respect the reserve stock in accordance with decree 263-02 of 12/06/2002 in order to manage the shortage phase until the situation is rectified.
The Minister then indicated that the “confusion” which can taint the supply of certain medicines in general is a problem known at the world level and does not only concern Morocco.
Regarding diabetes drugs in Marrakech, Ait Taleb pointed out that the ministry has allocated an annual budget of 1.5 billion DH to meet the needs of all public health establishments. The bulk of this envelope is intended for the purchase of drugs and health equipment for chronic diseases.
In this regard, he indicated that the cost of acquiring drugs for patients suffering from high blood pressure (HTA) exceeded 72 million DH in 2020, and more than 258.1 million DH were allocated to drugs intended for diabetic patients, including 19.5 million DH for the Marrakech-Safi region (including 15.5 million DH for the prefecture of Marrakech, dedicated to the acquisition of these drugs for the benefit of more than 42,894 patients in 2021, who follow their treatment in the 63 health centers under the prefecture).
The Minister added that the budget allocated to insulin amounts to 6.6 million DH, which represents approximately 43% of the total budget allocated to antidiabetic drugs in Marrakech.
As part of the operationalization of the expanded regionalization in drug supply, the Ministry-level Supply Division is working to supply all regional supply and pharmacy units with sufficient quantities of medicines. intended for diabetic patients on a regular basis, which allows the region to control its stock of medicines, explained Ait Taleb.
The central and external services of the ministry have not received any notification of shortage of these vital products in health centers, whether in the prefecture of Marrakech or in the rest of the provinces in the region, he concluded. .