Sri Lanka Human Development Report 2012.pdf

Figure 3.10: Medical Officers per 100,000 People
Figure 3.11: Nurses per 100,000 People
Source: Ministry of Health 2007.
Source: Ministry of Health 2007.
Medicines
Shortages of essential drugs, substandard drugs and
easy access to drugs are all health concerns. Currently,
the pharmaceutical market is regulated under the
Cosmetics, Devices and Drugs Act, No. 27 of 1980,
which is implemented by the Drug Regulatory Authority.
The Medical Supply Division of the Ministry of Health
is authorized to distribute medical supplies to public
institutions and narcotic drugs to both state and private
ones.
Signs that the market is unregulated, however, include the
ready availability of substandard, outdated and counterfeit
drugs, the dispatch of medicines without prescriptions
and drug shortages. 89 Unregulated use of drugs has
resulted in adverse health outcomes, including deaths, 90
yet thousands of them are marketed under different brand
names. While only a few of the medicines are regarded as
essential, 91 over 9,000 are registered in Sri Lanka. 92
Policy makers are aware of these deficiencies and have
taken steps such as the 2005 National Medicinal Drug
Policy, formulated and approved by the Cabinet, but has
not been implemented due to delays in establishing the
necessary institutional framework and to lobbying by
pharmaceutical companies. 93
Health Financing and Access to
Health Services
After years of heavy investment, improvements in health
facilities and personnel have recently been compromised
by more limited resources. As a percentage of GDP,
total expenditure on health care 94 has remained around
4 percent from 2000 to 2008, a low rate compared to a
global average of around 8 percent of GDP (Table 3.5).
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sri lanka Human Development report 2012