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Dept for International Development

Answer

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on shortages of (a) antisera (anti-snake venom) and (b) anti-cancer medicines in Iraq. [143935] Hilary Benn: Assessments by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Iraqi Ministry of Health earlier in the autumn indicated that there are no major shortages of essential medical supplies in Iraq. There are however still reported shortages of some very specialised supplies including antisera (ie anti snake venom) and some anti-cancer medicines. A great deal has already been achieved to re-establish drug systems in Iraq. The initial focus was, rightly, on securing adequate supplies of the most essential and most used medicines and vaccines. On 27 October, the Iraqi Ministry of Health estimated that 15,000 tons of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies had been delivered in 150 days. However, new supply systems are not yet fully operational. Until these are in place, including comprehensive accounting and reporting processes to ensure that needs are identified before shortages arise, some problems will continue to occur. Work is currently underway in the Iraqi Ministry of Health to develop a national drug formulary. This will enable improved sourcing of drugs and a new purchasing structure which will facilitate the arrival of some drugs which were almost non-existent under the old regime, including top-tier cancer drugs and other advanced pharmaceuticals. Work is also being done by the Ministry of Health, CPA and WHO to develop a complete overview of missing drugs and supplies. This is scheduled to finish in three months.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

143935; 415 c1004-5W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Cancer Drugs Iraq Medical treatments Prescription drugs Vaccination Shortages

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk