By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 31 July 2013:
Speaking at yesterday’s press conference, Health Minister Nouredin Doughman felt that the centralized state organ for purchasing medicine, the Medical Supply Organization (MSO) should be scrapped.
This organ was a creation of the Qaddafi regime when it nationalised the purchasing of medicines in Libya. It was deemed an inefficient and corrupt organisation responsible for the squandering of its budgets and for medical supply shortages during the Qaddafi years.
Doughman said that he preferred as a doctor as well as a Minister that hospitals ordered their own medicines – under the guidance of the MSO and his Ministry.
The existence of and reliance on the MSO, frequently led to medicine shortages, he explained. Individual hospitals understood their own individual needs best, he added.
He explained that even in top nations such as the UK or France, an MSO equivalent does not exist. He admitted that some medicines will need to be centralized – but the majority should be purchased by hospitals directly.
Doughman said that his Ministry had issued its first tender – Tender No 1 – for the purchase of medicine by the MSO eight months ago.
The committee charged with this had found difficulties ordering medicines from the existing Standard Medicines List. This is the list that the MSO Tender Committee must choose the medicines from. The list was out of date and suffered from discrepancies. They are still working on updating the list, he added.
Doughman noted that some brand owners had objected to the new draft list which had omitted their products. However, he saw no reason for not adding some omitted medicines or brands if some hospitals were already using them and still need them. [/restrict]
