Since the end of 2022, EU countries have been reporting serious supply problems with some important medicines, many of which are now in short supply..

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Some Ukrainians could also face a lack of necessary drugs, writes "

The head of the All-Ukrainian Association " In addition, there is a war going on in Ukraine, which further complicates the situation.. According to her, the authorities and the Ministry of Health managed to somewhat improve and improve distribution routes and logistics, but this is not enough.. In addition, there are other difficulties. For example, the number of pharmacies in Ukraine has decreased: from 20,000 to 16,000. At the same time, large networks are crowding out individual entrepreneurs..

“Also, during the hostilities, many warehouses of distributors were destroyed.. This led to the loss of large funds by the latter. After all, distributors shipped drugs online with deferred payment. The chains did not return funds to distributors, and they, in turn, did not return funds to manufacturers, who now cannot purchase substances. As for foreign manufacturers… If in some country the number of purchases of medicines is reduced, then this country becomes less attractive for foreign manufacturers and they supply drugs less,” she said..

The volume of medicines in Ukraine really fell last year. According to the analytical agency Proxima Research, compared to 2021, the retail pharmaceutical market showed a decrease in sales by 29%. Several reasons. This is a massive departure of Ukrainians abroad, a decrease in the purchasing power of the population with a simultaneous increase in prices for medicines, which in 2022 went up by 18.7%. At the same time, dietary supplements and medical products increased in price by 33.1% and 50.9%, respectively..

In addition, according to Elena Prudnikova, a lot of medicines are imported to Ukraine with humanitarian aid, which reduces the demand of the state and households for the purchase of foreign medicines, and also reduced the interest of foreign manufacturers in the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market. All of the above has led to a lack of a number of medicines, including colds..

Another important reason for the shortage of medicines is the difficulties faced by the government and, in particular, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.. As the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on the Health of the Nation, Mykhailo Radutsky, noted, last year it was not possible to purchase 5.5% of drugs (35 types of drugs) from the general plan for centralized procurement per year.

Also, according to the Patients of Ukraine charitable foundation, a little more than 24% of drugs were delivered to Ukraine during the war..

At the same time, the fund’s experts note that the situation with the availability of drugs in most areas is not yet critical, since the remains of most drugs are stored in warehouses and hospitals.. Although there is a shortage of some drugs. In particular, there is a shortage of oncology drugs such as Capecitabine, Paclitaxel, Letrozole, Zoledronic Acid.

The Affordable Medicines program continues to work in Ukraine. Thanks to it, patients can receive the necessary medicines free of charge or with a small co-payment.. Recall how to find pharmacies where you can get these medicines.