Support for initiatives to safeguard medicine supply chain

MMA supports government measures to secure medicine and medical device supplies, calling for buffer stocks and local manufacturing growth amid global instability

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has thrown its support behind the government’s initiatives to safeguard the nation’s medicine and medical device supply chain amid the ongoing global energy crisis triggered by the West Asia conflict.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the MMA said measures announced by the Economy minister, through the National Economic Action Council, were both important and timely, reflecting an appropriate response to the mounting uncertainties rippling through global supply chains.

Among the initiatives MMA endorsed were the introduction of a special access pathway to maintain availability of critical medicines and medical devices, centralised stock monitoring and diversification of import sources, the activation of emergency response plans, moves to establish a national strategic buffer stock and the development of a dedicated medicine security policy under the MyMedSecure framework alongside efforts to grow the domestic pharmaceutical industry.

The Health Ministry has advised that Malaysia’s medicine supply remains stable, with no significant disruptions recorded to date.

Local manufacturers are also reported to hold sufficient stocks of both raw materials and finished products to sustain operations for several months.

MMA president Datuk Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo cautioned against complacency given the fluid nature of the global situation.

He outlined three additional measures MMA is calling on the government to pursue.

Its first recommendation is that strategic buffer stocks be built around medicines listed in the National Essential Medicines List, with particular emphasis on treatments for chronic conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases – illnesses that affect a large and growing segment of Malaysians

Secondly, it called for greater transparency in the sharing of supply status information with the private healthcare sector.

It said clinics and private hospitals must be kept informed on a proactive basis to ensure continuity of patient care across all healthcare settings, not just public facilities.

Thirdly, and most expansively, the MMA urged Malaysia to treat the current crisis as a catalyst for accelerating domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in a structured and sustained manner.

It said building local production capability is a long-term imperative for achieving genuine national health sovereignty.

The MMA said it would continue engaging with the Health Ministry, the National Economic Action Council and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that Malaysians have uninterrupted access to essential medicines and treatment.

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