Bitter Pills:Medicines & The Third World Poor | Page 278

PRODUCT

DESCRIPTION

31.

Eye/ear drops.
Neomycin, sulphate, benzalk chloride and benzyl
alcohol

FRAMYGEN

FORMULA- FORMULA- PRODUCT
TION ON
TION ON
RECOMMENDED
UK
WHO LIST FOR W1THMARKET
(1979)
DRAWAL,
BANGLADESH
EXPERT
COMMITTEE
MAY 1982
No
No
No

(not with
neomycin
sulphate but
framycetin
sulphate in
U.K.)

(From product List September 1978 and Price List February 1981)
DECATONE: Although this is listed in Fisons (Bangladesh) February 1981 Institutional Price list and included in
the May 1982 Review of Products on the market, a letter from Fisons UK to Professor Rawlins (21
February 1980) states that DECA TONE was withdrawn from the Bangladesh market in June 1979.

APPENDIX IV
DRAFT NATIONAL DRUG POLICY FOR BANGLADESH
FROM EXPERT COMMITTEE REPORT. 11 MAY 1982.
To achieve the objectives of national drug policy and to provide guidelines for the formation of
programme the following actions are to be taken:
Selection and provision of essential drugs:
3.1 The major strategy is to overcomne constraint of limited resources for the the option utilization.
This also calls for the elimination of all unnecessary, useless drugs and drugs of doubtful efficacy
from the market. A limited list of 150 essential drugs considered adequate for most therapeutic purposes
shall be selected. Out of this about 45 essential drugs will be selected for the primary level of health
care on the basis of priority health need, cost, safety and suitability of treatment of common disease
and symptoms by up to Thana level health workers.
Besides, for the protection of the vast majority of people in the rural areas from hazards of undue
prescribing in an attempt to give them relief by basic health workers it is essential to limit the esential
drugs to 12 which are considered safe and adequate for common medical problems.
Besides there may be a list of another about 100 supplementary drugs needed for tertiary level of
health care by specialists. The various brands of drugs in the market shall be evaluated annually on
the basis of their usefulness, essentiality and cost-effectiveness in the light of up to date available
information. In future, only products which are considered essential and relevant to health needs
of the country and are consistent with this policy shall be licensed or registered. The selected essential
drugs shall be given preferential treatment in terms of licensing, import authorization, duties and
other financial benefits.

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