DG health chief uncertain on deaths linked to substandard medicines, says Dr. Sanjeewa

Colombo, April 8 (Daily Mirror) - The current Director General of Health Services has failed to confirm whether patients died due to defective and substandard medicines imported during the tenure of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, claimed Doctors’ Trade Union Alliance for Medical and Civil Rights Specialist Chairman, Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa.

He told the Daily Mirror that despite nearly three years since court proceedings began over the issue, neither the Health Ministry nor the Drug Regulatory Authority has officially confirmed whether the drugs in question, including immunoglobulins, cancer drugs and antibiotics, were responsible for any deaths.

Dr. Sanjeewa further expressed concern that no clear scientific determination has been made, despite repeated attention being drawn to the matter at ministerial level.

He also criticized what he described as the current Health Secretary’s silence over claims made by former Executive Director of the Medicines Regulatory Authority, Dr. Swin Semage, regarding the alleged administration of expired rabies vaccines, calling it a breach of public trust in the country’s free healthcare system.