Sindh Chief Drug Inspector Ghulam Ali Lakho told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that laboratory tests had found syringes and drip sets supplied by 38 companies to government hospitals to be substandard.
Mr Lakho made the disclosure during a PAC meeting chaired by Nisar Khuhro to review audit paras of the health department for 2024 and 2025. He said FIRs had been registered against the companies found supplying defective medical products.
The issue was raised by PAC member Makhdoom Fakharuz Zaman, who expressed concern over reports of substandard syringes and their reuse in hospitals, warning that such practices could facilitate the spread of serious diseases.
The PAC chairman directed the health department to provide a complete list of pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines worth billions of rupees to public hospitals, along with details of the drugs purchased.
Health Secretary Tariq Sangi told the committee that 75 per cent of medicines were procured centrally and 15pc locally through tenders under Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (SPPRA) rules. He said medicines were purchased only after laboratory testing, while the Drug Regulatory Authority and hospital pharmacists monitored their quality.
The committee also questioned the continued complaints about substandard medicines and discussed the shortage of diagnostic facilities at civil hospitals. Mr Sangi said MRI, CT scan and dialysis facilities were not available at every civil hospital and that the department planned to outsource radiology services across the province.
The PAC also took notice of missing records related to a Rs6.4 billion maternal and child healthcare project at LUMHS Jamshoro, funded by JICA and launched in 2020. As officials failed to produce audit documents and the project coordinator remained absent, the committee ordered action against him.
A show-cause notice was also issued to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Executive Director Dr Khalid Shoro for failing to attend the meeting.
On reports of inhaler shortages during winter, Mr Lakho attributed the previous shortage to smuggling to Afghanistan, saying the market currently faced no shortage due to a ban on smuggling and the availability of locally manufactured inhalers.
