Professor Dr. Muhammed Ra’ouf Hamed;
professor of pharmaceutical researches and inspection… a quiet and experienced
scientist who hates glowing lights and showing-off… a true Egyptian who always
pays the price for his patriotism no matter what… an intellectual who knows all
about his specialization and most of the facts that have to do with our life in
this country.
In the last two weeks, I wrote about
medications’ issue in Egypt and promised not to let the case since it connects
directly to the Egyptian people and our very existence… also, the matter has
scientific, knowledgeable, technical and economic aspects as pharmaceutical
industry has highly important economic sides in addition to the science,
knowledge and scientific applications associated with it.
It seems that there are times when
our national conscience is interested in a certain issue, both on the
collective and specialization levels… for example, item no. 62 of the quarterly
periodical “Ahwal Masrieya”, or Egyptian Affairs, approves this opinion,
it’s the autumn 2016 issue… this periodical is published by Al-Ahram Centre for
Political and Strategic Studies and headed by my respected and experienced
friend, Dr. Ayman es-Sayed Abdel-Wahhab as an editor-in-chief… and whom I knew he’s
been an earnest and talented researcher for long years… this item, I am talking
about, holds the topic of “Health and future vision”… it includes many files
like “towards a pro-national pharmaceutical renaissance policy”… “Medical
insurance… a new law”… “Medical status of women, children and youth”… “Health
challenges… and duplicity of epidemic diseases and pollution sources”… and
finally “Health map in numbers… statistical appendix”.
In the first file, I carefully read the
study written by professor Dr. Muhammed Ra’ouf Hamed whom I introduced at the
beginning of the article… I’m very much interested in showing Almasry Alyoum
readers some of what Dr. Hamed wrote regarding our national pharmaceutical renaissance…
he started his study with an introduction about Egypt’s pioneering rank in
pharmaceutics since Tala’at Pash Harb, along with some pharmacy men like Dr.
Riyad Zein ed-Din, led this pioneering movement by establishing Masr Company
for Medical Pharmaceutics… such flourish continued until the forties when three
completely-new therapeutic pharmaceutical substances were discovered.
During the sixties of the twentieth
century, pharmaceutical industry in Egypt advanced more and more through more achievements,
like establishing a company for raw pharmaceutical substances and founding the
first inspection and research entity in pharmaceutical affairs on the level of
developed countries… that was the centre of research and pharmaceutical
inspection…
Egypt seemed to be a promising country
in the field of pharmaceutics… and expectations were high that Egypt could be a
strong tiger in pharmaceutics… whether in revealing secrets of raw material
fabrication, developing pharmaceutical composites or innovating new pharmaceutical
technologies.
Afterwards, Dr. Hamed detects the
collapse that took place and how Egypt retarded while other Arab countries
advanced… to the extent that Jordan’s pharmaceutical exports will exceed those
of Egypt by four folds.
I’m not one of those who prefer
lamenting our country’s great achievements in earlier times… or of those who
keep fishing for negative sides and focusing on them… however, I try hard to look
for solutions… and here I move to the last part of Dr. Hamed’s study… this part
has to do directly with the alternatives available in order to achieve
pharmaceutical renaissance in Egypt and – in my opinion – to stand against
medications’ mafia and its unreasonably-massive profits.
In the fourth article, the writer
and scientist tackles the need to reengineer the future of the Egyptian
pharmaceutical conditions, starting with two essential notes… the first is that
conditions of pharmaceutics industry and research in Egypt are, since the mid
seventies of the last century, dominated by conservative relations and
orientations where no leaps of advance could be achieved compared to what
happened in the thirties and forties of the same century or even those
advancements accomplished in the sixties… the second note has to do with the
increasing laxity by the governments’ side – also since the mid seventies –
regarding delivering medications to those who deserve them and the huge discrepancy
found regarding the individual’s average share of medications in different
governorates… such discrepancy that reaches four folds.
Then, the honorable scientist talks
about the changes in the pharmaceutical policy regarding medications’
availability… also, the changes regarding pharmaceutical industry… afterwards,
he moves to the fifth article dedicated to answering a very crucial question:
is a supreme council for medication a real need or not?... and why?
I will try to excerpt some main
points that should be taken into consideration regarding setting, executing and
following the pharmaceutical policy… for example, proper application for the
principle concepts like establishing a list for major medications – using scientific
names – and principles of rational use of medications… also, to depend on
scientific studies regarding the parameters that measure individuals’ standard
of livings… using medications in the different governorates… and how
discrepancy in living standards can affect medications’ usage… after this, we
can work to practice better control over the number of medications from that perspective;
improving rationality in describing and using medications…
Also, we should widen the circle of those
interested and are belonging to different specialization fields connected to
setting and discussing the pharmaceutical policy… then, subjecting the
pharmaceutical policy for periodical evaluation depending on scientific studies
and workshops, in addition to setting plans and programs that enable good
management of the problems that may face the pharmaceutical policy like those
of medications’ shortage and sudden increases of their prices… In such regard,
one needs systematic tackling of problems so that we can anticipate them… also,
we should assimilate concepts and relations of feedback in order to understand
and discover all possibilities regarding finding solutions.
Finally, we should seek increasing
the integration between medical care policies and pharmaceutical one…
especially that the latter is mainly concerned of providing adequate medical
care.
Next week, we shall provide the answer
for the question asking why a supreme council for medications is a dire
necessity… from a scientific and practical point of view for Dr. Muhammed Ra’ouf
Hamed.
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
This article was published in
Almasry Alyoum newspaper on November 16, 2016.
To see the original article, go to:
#almasry_alyoum #ahmed_elgammal
#medications #Egypt #pharmaceutical_industry
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