Cabinet nod for National Drug Policy

Friday, 6 February 2015 00:58 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Cabinet has approved the proposed National Drug Policy and it will now be presented to Parliament for approval, Cabinet spokesman and Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday.

The National Drugs Policy has been in the making for years during the tenure of the previous Government and the decision to expedite it was taken at a Political Party Leaders’ Executive Committee meeting held on 20 January. Soon after assuming duties as the new Health Minister, Senaratne said the Senaka Bibile National Medicinal Drugs Policy will be implemented in the 100-day program after making changes to meet the present day’s needs. The Minister noted that with the introduction of the National Drugs Policy, pharmaceutical drugs would be available in their generic name and prices would be reduced significantly. President Maithripala Sirisena, who was the then Health Minister, presented its final draft to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa last March but the policy never materialised.