The Food and Drug Administration has announced that currently, 104 pharmaceutical factories are active in the country, producing 650 types of medications.
According to officials at this institution, the products of these factories are of good quality.
Javid Hajir, the spokesperson for the Food and Drug Administration, said, “In the past two and a half years, their number has increased. Currently, around 104 factories are actively producing drugs and health products in the country, and their production capacity has multiplied compared to the past; previously, there were around 220 products, but today the capacity of our factories exceeds 650 products.”
On the other hand, some residents of the capital have complained about the high prices and low quality of drugs in Kabul’s markets.
The residents have asked the officials in the Ministry of Public Health and the Food and Drug Administration to increase drug production in the country and pay attention to the prices.
Nooruddin, one of the patients, said, “What is needed and must be imported is very costly for us. We have spent more than ten thousand in three days in this hospital.”
Meanwhile, a number of drug sellers acknowledge the high prices of some medications in the country and emphasize the use of locally produced drugs.
Mohammad Khalid, a drug seller, said, “Our request to the government is to support the drug factories that are in the country.”
This comes as, according to officials at the Food and Drug Administration, in previous years, 95 percent of the required drugs for citizens were imported from outside Afghanistan. However, in the last two years, these imports have decreased to 80 percent.
