October 11, 2020
The opening ceremony of 18th Annual Conference of Myanmar Pharmaceutical & Medical Equipment Entrepreneurs Association was held online yesterday.
At the ceremony, Union Minister for Health and Sports Dr Myint Htwe, on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Sports and its staff, expressed thanks to MPMEEA for providing assistance in the purchase of quality medicines and medical supplies with fair prices amid COVID-19.
The ministry’s Food and Drug Administration Department is undertaking the procedures for safety of medicines and medical equipment in accordance with National Drug Law, related laws and agreements between ASEAN countries, he said.
He added that MPMEEA is an important partner organization of the ministry, saying the association to organize discussions with officials from Medicines and Medical Equipment Distribution Division to draft policies and systems that will enable effective cooperation between the ministry and the association.
He urged the association’s experts to openly give advice on the weaknesses and needs in distributing medicines and medical equipment, inviting tenders, online appointment date application system and certificates management system during the discussions.
The ministry allocated only K147 billion for the purchase of medicines and medical equipment in 2019-2020FY, but the ministry will use up to K300 billion in 2020-2021FY.
Therefore, it is important to purchase quality medicines and medical equipment with fair prices, he added.
He called for cooperation from the association in building specification bank, collection of detailed data and quality specifications, which is crucial for the purchase of medicines and medical equipment.
Union Minister for Commerce Dr Than Myint said Deputy Minister for Commerce is member of COVID-19 related Medicines and Medical Equipment Purchase Committee, and the ministry is cooperating with United Nations Office for Project Services-UNOPS and Public Health Department for the purchase of medicines and medical supplies abroad.
During COVID-19 period, the ministry has given licence fee exemptions on all raw drug materials for manufacturing medicines, he added.
MPMEEA Chairperson Agga Maha Siri Suddhama Mani Jotadhara U Zaw Moe Khine made greeting remarks and detailed about cooperation and donations of the association in the ministry’s COVID-19 measures, capacity building works in cooperation with Food and Drug Administration Department, and cooperation on drafting medical equipment law. The first session of the conference was concluded after announcing the names of new members selected for central executive and executive committees for 2020-2022.— MNA (Translated by Kyaw Zin Tun)
