No check on hand sanitizers’ price in Pakistan

By Kalbe Ali

Islamabad: Hand sanitizers’ price in Pakistan is up but the government fails to keep a check on it. The usage of hand sanitizers in Pakistan has increased as per the directives of health experts to contain the spread of Covid-19, but there was no agency to check the price of hand sanitizers and implement quality control for imported or locally manufactured sanitizers in Pakistan.

Sanitizers are available in the markets of Pakistan, and the sellers only ask about the price range from the buyers instead of informing them about the technical specifications of the sanitizers.

Due to the unclear government policy, there was no authority to check the quality and prices of sanitizers manufactured or sold across Pakistan.

The confusion was due to the decision of the federal cabinet in May last year to shift the subject of manufacturing and sale of sanitizers from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

DRAP continues to be the official agency to deal with the prices of medicines and over-the-counter (OTC) products and ensure their quality as per the WHO directives.

 However, the decision to transfer subject to the Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) to handle the licensing and check the quality of sanitizers created a gap in the system. 

The PSQCA had formulated the standards for sanitizers one year ago, and the authority had informed all the manufacturers and distributors of hand sanitizers and disinfectants to follow the Pakistan Standard PS: 5453 through a press release.

Whereas the PSQCA does not have the relevant expertise to check the chemical content of sanitizer or disinfectant is not even listed on the list of compulsory Items to meet Pakistan Standards.

The spokesman of PSQCA, Rehmatullah Memon, says PSQCA is implementing the standards of various products in the country.

He added that the authority had asked all the manufacturers that the label at each bottle/packing needed to show the products with percentage, date of manufacturing and expiry date, the batch number, and the producer’s name with address.

Technically, the PSQCA was the official standards body that World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreement, in Pakistan. It also represented Pakistan in the international standard agencies like International Organisation For Standardisation (ISO) and International  Electrotechnical Commission Geneva, International Organisation for Legal Metrology, Paris.

 DRAP was the legitimate agency of Pakistan to deal with WHO over medicines and OTC products, and section 7(c) of the DRAP Act, 2012 pertains to the manufacturing of hand sanitizers.

Meanwhile, according to a senior official of the Ministry of health services, DRAP is the agency to implement the WHO standards relating to medicines and OTC products.

The federal cabinet does not have the power to bypass the DRAP act Parliament had approved, an official added.

The law states that DRAP has jurisdiction over “abortive and contraceptive substances, agents and devices, surgical ligatures, sutures, bandages, absorbent cotton, disinfectants, bacteriophages, adhesive plasters, gelatin capsules, and antiseptic solution.”

Despite possessing expertise, DRAP did not implement the standards. However, there is still confusion in Pakistan about who controls the price. Its mandate is also to keep a check on the prices of hand sanitizers in Pakistan. As a result, many imported sanitizers were available in the market. However, there was a mechanism to ensure the quality standards.

Even the technical experts have expressed concerns over the conditions. The President of the Young Doctors Association – Punjab chapter Dr. Salman Haseeb, said many hand sanitizers in the local market are available at a higher prices and are ineffective against coronavirus. He said that is an issue as it would lead to a rise in cases.

Dr. Salman said rising coronavirus cases would have consequences on the already fragile health system.

He urged the PSQCA, DRAP, and FIA to make joint efforts to ensure quality standard sanitizers in the country.