Residents of Omdurman, In the Sudanese capital Khartoum, have complained about the scarcity and soaring prices of human medicines in the local drug shops.
They also raised concerns over the proliferation of expired and unlicensed drugs amidst significant destruction and theft of medicines from government drug warehouses and pharmacies.
Mona Ezzeldin, a resident of the Al-Thawra area in the Karari locality, told Radio Tamazuj that she constantly struggles to find medication.
“Most pharmacies tell me that the medicine is unavailable and after an arduous search I bought expired drugs,” she said. “I returned to the pharmacy but the response was that the medicine was still unavailable and the expiry date does not affect the patient.”
Mona said this was not the first time she had purchased expired drugs from Omdurman pharmacies.
According to Ezzeldin, ordinary citizens cannot afford the high prices of drugs in the local chemists and pharmacies.
Similarly, Ishtiaq Abdullah, a resident of Karari locality, said medicines for chronic illnesses are out of stock.
“The problem is not just the skyrocketing prices of medicines but some essential human drugs like those for hypertension and diabetes are unavailable,” she said, adding that urology patients also suffer, especially the elderly.
“A dose of a drug that used to cost SDG 1,500, now goes for 3,000, and some even soared to SDG 9,000,” she lamented. “Despite the high cost, it is impossible to buy more than the dosage needed for a month and it is uncertain whether it will be available next month or not.”
Abdullah emphasized that the increased prices of medicines have added pressure on citizens amidst unemployment with most of them being displaced from the Umbadda neighbourhoods.
Meanwhile, Ammar Ahmed Abdurrasoul, complained that he bought his medicine for the month at double the price, with an increase of 200 percent, and found it expired.
“When I returned it to the pharmacist, I was assured it would not harm me,” he stated.
For his part, Kamal Osman, another Omdurman resident, said, the health ministry earlier put out a warning about banned medicines in the market.
“Medicines are too expensive and we cannot afford them,” he said. “Previously, the National Council for Drugs and Poisons under the Federal Ministry of Health warned about the spread of non-compliant drugs in the market.”
Following increasing complaints on social media, one doctor warned about drugs that emerged after the war erupted, describing them as “among the worst kinds of medicines.”
A pharmacist, Hagir Abdelmoneim, told this publication that the shortage of medicine was caused by a disruption in supply chains which he attributed to the war.
“One prominent reason for the skyrocketing prices of medicines in Omdurman is the reverse in the logistics of drug supply,” she said.
She noted that drugs now come from cities like Atbara, Shendi, Dongola, and Port Sudan, leading to increased transportation costs and invoices paid along the way until they reach pharmacies.
According to Abdelmoneim, drug companies in Khartoum, Omdurman, and Khartoum Bahri in the past delivered medicines to pharmacies for free.
“Some vitamin compounds used to be sold for SDG 200-250 but now they cost 1,000 and Diabetes control pills and paracetamol now cost SDG 1,000 per strip,” she said. “Blood pressure medicines quadrupled from SDG 600 to SDG 3,500. There is also a shortage in psychiatric drugs, with only 70 percent available.”
The pharmacist highlighted that some black market dealers who are not qualified sell scarce drugs. She pointed out that the Ministry of Health stopped functioning in November last year, leading to a lack of oversight which has resulted in illegal pharmacies opening without specifications or observing standards.
Abdelmoneim said there are a lot of expired drugs in the market because some pharmacies located in conflict areas closed throughout the war period and recently transferred drugs to safe areas.
Another pharmacist, Mohammed Salah, said there has been an emergence and proliferation of individuals who hawk expired medicines in suitcases and that this has also contributed to soaring drug prices.
“Institutions now have to deal with individuals who have no knowledge of medicine but sell drugs, In Omdurman, they obtain medicines from Shendi, Atbara, and black market traders and some unregistered drugs are smuggled in,” he explained.
Salah disclosed that pharmacists purchase limited stocks of drugs that are not affected by storage conditions and avoid drugs that require refrigeration.