KUWAIT CITY, Feb 16: The Ministry of Health said the crisis of shortage of some medicines which some ministry facilities complained as of late is expected to end within two months, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting health ministry sources. The sources said the ministry will complete processing between 90 and 95 percent of the observations related to the unavailability of medicines in some health centers and hospitals.

The same sources said Medical Warehouses Department has recently obtained 3 new warehouses to store large quantities of medicines and medical supplies to support the strategic stock of medicines for long periods, in anticipation of any crises or emergencies in future, similar to what happened during Covid-19 pandemic instead of waiting for the medicines to arrive from international medical firms and factories indefinitely, which may be controlled by shipping and transportation companies, in the event of closure of some factories, or even the increase in drug prices and other unknown factors.

The source explained the additional warehouses will be in the Jaber Hospital, the old Jahra Hospital and the Sabhan region, indicating that the capacity of the three warehouses is approximately 5,000 square meters, and is subject to direct supervision by warehouse officials, especially with regard to storage and methods of distributing medicines to health facilities in all regions, according to their needs. The sources stated the medicines are expected to arrive next April to ensure all medicines are available of medicines, stressing that the strategic stock of some medicines at the moment is 12 months, at a time when the Ministry continues to supply medicines for chronic diseases such as the blood pressure, diabetes and cancer medications unhindered at all government facilities.

On a related level, the sources revealed that the Ministry of Health recently provided injections for patients suffering from rare diseases, such as muscular dystrophy, at a cost of 4 million dinars, explaining that the cost of one “course” for a patient varies according to the condition and treatment protocol, and may reach 250,000 dinars for the diseased condition since the medicines is taken in stages over months. The sources indicated this disease usually begins to appear during early childhood, and if it is not properly treated, it causes a person’s inability to walk and is genetic that affects the muscles in the body.

Meanwhile, the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Technical Affairs, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Mutairi, affirmed, during the inauguration of the fifth conference for the management of medical laboratory services the day before yesterday, that laboratories are an integral part of any health system, and are directly related to the quality of health care provided to patients not only in Kuwait, but in the entire world. The most important steps to be taken in the health area include, providing new warehouses for storage of medicines, covering shortages for some treatments and increased coordination with local agents.