Ramadoss steals Paswan's thunder

Drug banks, cancer fund now health ministry's babies.

Chemicals Minister Ram Vilas Paswan may find his pet proposals, currently under the consideration of a GoM headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, implemented by the health ministry "" even before the GoM takes a final view.

The health ministry is likely to flag off two key proposals made in Paswan's draft pharma policy "" establishment of cancer support fund and drug banks "" in the coming months.

Once the health ministry's plans materialise, the Pharmaceutical Advisory Forum, a representative body set up by Paswan with members from health NGOs, drug regulators and department officials, will also find its ongoing discussions to identify various models to implement the programmes futile.

Paswan had proposed setting up a national-level drug bank fund with three partners "" the Government of India, state governments and the pharma industry.

He also wanted to introduce a cancer medicine assistance scheme in all the major cancer hospitals of the country.

However, it was not Paswan but Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss who scored a point on Friday when he announced the "Health Minister's Cancer Support Fund".

The minister also sought donations from corporates, both Indian and foreign, to the fund and assured that it would be managed by an independent and professional team.

Meanwhile, his ministry has initiated talks with the All-India Organisation of Druggists and Chemists (AIOCD) to set up drug banks in various parts of the country on a pilot basis.

The AIOCD has agreed to manage the drug banks, which would receive free medicines from drug companies, provided the infrastructure is arranged by respective state governments. The programme is envisaged as part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

It should be noted that the health ministry, in its comments on the draft pharma policy, had stated that the policy did not taken into account the initiatives taken under the NRHM to strengthen access to healthcare services for the BPL families.

It said that the NRHM provided for most of the drugs included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) through the public health infrastructure.

Stating that both the initiatives of the NRHM were designed for the poor, the health ministry wanted Paswan's ministry to consider its initiatives while devising the rationale of the proposed policy.