Bitter Pills:Medicines & The Third World Poor | Page 195
Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB). Increasingly orders were placed with Eastern
European manufacturers - particularly in Hungary - because they quoted good
prices. But the new policy ran into difficulties when doubts were raised about
the quality of the Eastern European drugs, despite the fact that the drug control
authorities were satisfied that they had undergone adequate quality control.(l43)
Pressure was brought to bear for an official investigation into the increasing volume
of imports from Eastern Europe to establish whether any political motive was
involved. At the time the TCB was handling 40% of the national requirement
for finished drugs and there were plans to expand its centralised procurement
operations. In the event the commission of inquiry failed to establish any political
motivation behind the imports from Hungary. Nonetheless, the TCB's share of
imports was scaled down to 10%.(144)
Existing drug legislation in Bangladesh is based on the Drugs Act of 1940, which
was described in a recent Expert Committee Report as "grossly inadequate".(145)
Consequently, according to the Expert Committee: "Much of the unethical
practices in manufacture and trade is possible because of the weakness of existing
legislation ... There is no provision in the Drugs Act for the control of prices of
pharmaceutical raw materials or finished products." (l46)
Drug Administration officials have lacked the necessary legal powers to bring
quick prosecutions and impose meaningful penalties even in cases of serious
malpractice. Thus they have been seriously hampered in dealing with some of
the worst abuses such as the case of a local company found to have been filling
vials with tap water and selling them as distilled water for injections - a practice
that can kill. Similarly, they could do little to control the black market in stolen
drugs which we witnessed in operation in September 1980. A stallholder in Mitford
market in the capital was selling tetracycline powder from a huge barrel stolen
somewhere in transit. The yellow powder was tipped into paper sacks and whatever
fell to the ground in the process was simply scooped back off the dirty floor.
The maximum penalty for offences of this nature has been a £14 fine and three
years' imprisonment. There could be a delay of up to three years in bringing
prosecutions through the courts. Drug Administration officials have long been
critically aware of the need to tighten up legislation to safeguard health. They
have put a great deal of effort into studying drug legislation in Britain, the United
States, India and the WHO Model Drug Law, as a basis for new Bangladeshi drug
laws. But when they tried to put their plans into action, they were obstructed.
In 1978, a powerful lobby proved successful in blocking tougher legislation. Within
months a new Health Minister replaced the man who had sanctioned the proposed
new legislation. A committee was subsequently appointed to set about the task
of redrafting the new drug laws. More attention was to be paid to local
manufacturers' distaste for government controls.