The federal government’s import ban has resulted in a severe shortage of medical equipment, according to the Healthcare Devices Association of Pakistan (HDAP).
Regarding the anticipated shortage of medical equipment, the Healthcare Devices Association of Pakistan (HDAP) sent letters to the finance, industry, and commerce ministers.
The group urged the federal government to immediately unlock the letters of credit (LCs) to facilitate the importation of medical equipment in its letter. Otherwise, hospitals across the nation would be in a grave scenario.
The association also stated that if the situation is not improved by the authorities, the companies won’t be able to supply new medical equipment to the hospitals.
In hospitals, it was suggested, operations and various medical facilities would be questionable. Additionally, any interruption in the supply of medical equipment will seriously impact the health industry.
According to the organization, Pakistan imports 90% of the medical equipment used in both private and public hospitals.
To maintain the rupee’s stability against the dollar, Pakistan is adopting a number of steps, and thousands of LCs from businesses and importers are still pending.
Due to the current administration’s policy of requiring approval from the finance ministry for imports related to defence, the country’s demand for defence began to suffer earlier in the month.
The government made the historically unprecedented decision in response to the external sector’s downturn, which was accompanied by a continuous decline in exports and foreign exchange reserves.
According to sources, the finance ministry updated its import policies for defence in view of the shrinking foreign exchange reserves. They also said that obtaining a letter of credit (LC) for imports against the regular defence budget would need getting the approval of the finance ministry’s external finance division.
