The Health Ministry assures the public that medicines requirements could be met without any shortage by next year.
Its additional secretary Dr. Saman Ratnayake told the media yesterday(06) that measures in the short, medium and long terms have been takento ensure that.
Within the next fortnight, most prevailing medicines shortages would be rectified, he said.
The country has 14 life-saving medicines, while only 22 out of 683 essential medicines are in short-supply, said Dr. Ratnayake.
Sri Lanka imports 80 per cent of its medicines requirements at an annual cost of USD 750 million.
The arrival of orders takes between two to six months.
Plans are under way to raise the local production from the present 20 pc to 60 pc, he said.
Director of the medical supplies division Dr. A.T. Sudarshana said no serious shortage has been reported from the hospital system.
Any prevailing scarcity is due to the weaknesses in the distribution process, he claimed.
