Dr. Gopal Dabade,
57, Tejaswinagar,
Dharwad 580002. Karnataka
Tel: +91 (0)836-2461722, +91 (0)9448862270.
Email: drdabade@gmail.com
Dr. Mira Shiva,
A-60, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi. India
Tel: +91 (0)11-26855010, +91 (0)9810582028.
Email: mirashiva@yahoo.com
Mr. S.Srinivasan,
LOCOST (Low Cost Standard Therapeutics),
Vadodara, Gujarat
http://www.locostindia.com
Tel: +91 (0)265-2340223/2333438.
Email: sahajbrc@youtele.com
Dr. Anurag Bhargava,
Jan Swasthya Sahyog,
Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh
http://www.janswasthyasahyog.com
Tel: +91 (0)7752-270751,
Email: abhar786@yahoo.com
Use of certain drugs at the community level
In our country, the manufacture and import, sale and export, distribution and usage of drugs is regulated by Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 which is a central act.
This act is very restrictive from the viewpoint of users of drugs and community health activists and facilitators. (There are non-drug interventions but drugs are required at times.) Schedule K of the act maintains a list of the drugs exempted from regulations, but this schedule needs thorough overhauling.
There is absolutely no provision allowing either end-users or community volunteers of NGOs to distribute or sell legally manufactured and legally procured drugs like –
Standard Nutrients – Iron and Folic Acid, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Calcium preparations, B complex group vitamins etc.
Standard Analgesic and Antipyretic – Paracetamol
Standard Anthelmintic – Albendazole
Standard Antimalarial – Chloroquin
Standard Antibacterial – Cotrimoxazole / Amoxycillin
Standard Antifungal – Clotrimazole
Standard Antiprotozoal and Antibacterial – Metronidazole
Standard Antiseptic – Povidone
Standard Oral contraceptive pills
Some of these drugs are in Schedule K and are exempted from sale licence when used by All Govt. Health Worker Cadres including ICDS, Community Health Volunteers in Rural Health Scheme. But there is no provision for distribution by NGO workers or end-users.
In this country, tobacco and such other hazardous products are manufactured and sold almost freely and whatever restrictions are there, these are generally ineffective. We know that legal stipulations related to the said and even other drugs are also violated many a time. Law-abiding voluntary organizations do not prefer to violate statutes.
There must be provisions in the Act for proper distribution and usage of at least the time-tested and not-so-risky drugs by NGOs. (Above cited list is neither complete nor exhaustive.) The Act may spell out criteria regarding training and even testing for eligibility for such permission. The system may even monitor the implementation to maintain vigil.
Such a provision would be immensely useful in many unserved and underserved areas of our country and in general. The first aid capacities in both public and private places and even in house holds would get strengthened as a result of such provision. Even the school curricula may include usage of certain drugs as part of health education and first aid education.
I request colleagues to discuss this issue.
The discussion may help evolve the subject and even a demand paper. The later can be submitted to authorities by advocacy networks to have some desirable results. Thanks.
Dr. Viren S. Doshi, MBBS
I wanted to know the present stsus of Pentavalent Vaccine which was suspended by the Central Govt. due to side effects.
I will be very much obliged if you could provide me a copy of the said curcular
generic Medicine shop open
please gide me
in Hindi or Marathi Language