Every year World Health Day is celebrated on the 7th of April. We are forced to focus on the various aspects of degradation of medical field in our country in the context of this day. If we look at the business of fake medicines then the truth behind this game can be unveiled.
According to one estimate thousands of patients loose their lives in our country not because of illness but due to fake medicines.
The death of any sick person is always a sad thing but never a surprising thing, because when a person falls ill, there are hopes for his recovery along with the doubt of his death. Though this thought may be very mild but if a person dies due to the intake of fake medicines then it is very dangerous.
Mashelkar committee set up by the Centre in January 2003 presented its interim report and said that on an average 0.5 per cent of the medicines sold every year are fake and around 10 per cent are poor in quality. States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and Mumbai are also into this network.
During the 60s and 70s smuggling of gold was the favourite business of the mafia, similarly fake medicines business is the most liked one in the 90s. The business is growing manifolds since then. The Indian pharmaceutical business with a growth of $3.1 million is largest when compared to other areas. The total growth rate of India is though between 4.5 and 5.5 per cent but the growth rate of pharmaceutical business is more than 15 per cent. We are one of the few nations which the largest producer and exporters of medicines. There are around 10,000 drug manufacturing units in the country out of which 290 units are located in big regions and 58 are multinational companies. Indian pharmaceutical industry is at par with those of America, Germany, England etc. If the mafia inclines towards this business due to the attractive figures then it is no surprise. The profit margins are very large in this business and the present judicial system is not very strict. We are following the old and obsolete laws with respect to fake medicines, which are as old as 70 years.
The Mashelkar committee said that the police should be vigilant in order to save the common man from becoming the victims of adulterated and fake medicines and recommended death sentence and life imprisonment for the mafia in its interim report. The second important aspect is that the domestic drug manufacturing industry is becoming sick. Allopathy has no doubt reached milestones in curing various diseases but permanent cure is still the privilege for the alternative systems like ayurveda, homeopathy and Unani. It is normally seen that allopathic medicines give no results in the treatment of serious diseases but the alterative medicines have proved to be sure shot. If we look at our progress and contribution in the field of medicine with reference to industrial progress then it can be seen that our domestic industries have also developed medicines. Our natural ayurvedic medical system has been hampered. It is an attempt to sabotage the independent progress of our indigenous medical system and destroy its entity itself. Before the implementation of Duncale committee’s proposal the prices of Indian medicines increased by almost 50 to 200 per cent. Today medicines worth 4,570 crores rupees are manufactured in our country. A majority of the patents are in the name of multinational companies. Today profit making objective has increased to such an extent that it has destroyed all the standards of morality and ethics. There is a predominance of allopathic medicines in the market and ruled by MNCs. Therefore allopathic medicine field is in the control of commercialism. This has influenced the other methods as well.
We also have an objective to look into the thoughts and talents of the poor people of India. The developed nations have been using India and its talents since a very long time. The drug manufacturing companies are using India in different ways. They use the poor people like Ginny pigs for the purpose of experimenting their medicines. America is witnessing the loss of the whole market share of clinical tests and is agitating against it. This shows its irritation.
The Managing Director of American General of Bioethics said that the Indian poor is once again the target for the world.
The clinical tests done in India saves lot of money for these companies and they also get skilled and trained professionals. The Indian people should also be careful about the probable exploitation due to greed for more profits. The Indians can be taken for a ride just for the sake of 100 dollars or 4,500 rupees. For the last few years the western nations are looking at India for the sake of clinical tests. Switzerland, UK, France and America are transferring their business to India. Vice President, Ashish Singh of Van & Co., monitoring the health care industry says that India would earn around 900 crores for outsourcing clinical tests. President of Indian medical association and member of Indian food and drug administration, Dr. Sanjeev Malik says that the developed nations are creating adverse conditions against the clinical tests in India in a planned way. The reason being that America has a big share in the clinical tests and it other developed nations are also loosing it. Here it is necessary to talk about the new concept prevailing in the medical field, that is holistic cure or wellness clinic. For the past several years people are following other therapies instead of depending only on allopathic medicines. In this context wellness clinics are being opened in different places in order to provide traditional medical systems and practical medical systems under one roof. Here the treatment is given to the patient with the objective of curing the illness on the basis of condition and care is taken to see that the patient does not contract other diseases. It is a totally new concept but still it is able to secure its position in the Indian market. The main objective of these clinics to give complete treatment to the patient with reference to his business and daily routine. Both domestic and international medical systems are followed in these clinics to give a holistic treatment to the patient. Homeopathy, Ayurvedic, Acupressure, acupuncture, Chinese medicines, herbal medicines, naturopathy and yoga are followed in these clinics.
The concept of holistic treatment has begun keeping in mind the benefits attained by following these systems. Complete health means complete mental and physical health. The patient’s health check up is carried on from time to time so that any physical or mental problem can be detected at an early stage and the treatment could be started without any delay.
Traditional systems like homeopathy and ayurveda are prevalent in India. People have started believing in yoga and herbal medicines. India has its own health policy but there is no national drug policy, which can be implemented in the whole nation in a uniform manner. The drug policy implemented in Delhi with the support Of WHO has become so successful that every state is wanting to increase the quality of the medicines in low budget. This drug policy has been implemented in the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Tamilnadu ad Himachal Pradesh. World Health Day is celebrated every year but nothing is done for the relief of common man. Fake medicines are proving to be fatal for the patients. The people associated with drug manufacturing and medical filed are minting money. The government should take some strong measures in this direction otherwise this endless journey of darkness would never come to an end. The common man is falling prey to the drug manufacturers and medical business. The long awaited Patanjali Yogpith would be inaugurated very soon and people from every religion, caste, sect and community will attain benefits without any bias.
