Tuesday, 22 February 2005 |
Editorial |
News Business Features Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries | Please forward your comments to the Editor, Daily News. Email : [email protected] Snail mail : Daily News, 35, D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 11 2429429 / 94 11 2421181 Fax : 94 11 2429210 The State, a quiet achiever Running parallel to the overwhelming international concern and humanity which have come Sri Lanka's way in the wake of the tsunami disaster, is the Government's empathic response to the plight of those who have been rendered homeless, destitute and helpless in this country. While the visit to this country by former US Presidents George Bush (Snr) and Bill Clinton epitomised the understanding and succour lavished on us by the world community, the Government's abundant financial assistance to those who have lost their homes and habitats, coupled with other forms of State aid, symbolise the latter process. The State's beneficial intervention in this crisis needs to be continually highlighted because it has been the aim in some quarters to make out that no State help has materialised on the ground - the aim being to discredit the Government as being ineffective. Evidence from "the ground", however, proves just the opposite. Perhaps Government intervention could be swifter but one needs to remember that the State is up against an unprecedented crisis. Given the enormity of the challenge, rebuilding at break-neck speed is not possible. But substantial work is being done by the State to relieve the suffering of the tsunami-affected and its record of work speaks for itself. The latest positive intervention of the Government is the immediate granting of Rs. 250,000 to those who lost houses and abodes to the rampaging waves. While around 100,000 houses were partly or completely destroyed by the waves, all those who are thus left desolate and homeless would receive this grant from State banks to rebuild their houses and start life afresh. Meanwhile, affected entrepreneurs will be granted loans upto Rs. 5 million at just six percent interest to rebuild their businesses. Running parallel to these encouraging developments is the notable rebuilding of the Matara district, which is one of the worst affected regions of the country. Yesterday we highlighted a series of high-speed housing development projects in Matara. Substantial progress is also being made under the Matara City Renewal Action Programme. Thus it could be said that the Lankan State is a quiet achiever in this crisis. Slowly but surely it is going about its chores, without fanfare, because it needs to be true to its constitutional obligations. Rather than seek glory for itself, it would aim at helping the people in their hour of need. Service to the people is its crowning glory although some organisations persist in blowing their trumpets, growing hoarse in the process. March 1st is the date set by President Kumaratunga for the launching of the reconstruction phase in the national rebuilding programme. From what could be seen, we are ready for the starting of this second phase. The necessary financial assistance is being granted to the affected and very soon houses would spring-up in these desolate tracts. A bitter pill We generally trust our local pharmacist and even seek advice from him/her on minor ailments, buying the recommended pills in the end. But what if the pharmacist is not qualified to man the pharmacy, leave alone advising patients? The latest findings indicates hat this is a real possibility - out of the 9,000 pharmacies in Sri Lanka, nearly 7,000 do not have qualified pharmacists who have a knowledge about drugs and pharmaceutical items. Another glaring fact is that out of the 9,000 pharmacies, only 3,500 have been registered. There are only 2,000 qualified pharmacists in the Government and the private sectors. A sobering thought indeed. Running a pharmacy cannot be compared to running any other shop. The pharmacist ought to have a complete knowledge of the drugs on sale - what they are for, after/side effects, contra-indications, generic terms etc. A careless mix-up of drugs could literally have deadly consequences. Another common practice is the over-the-counter sale of prescription drugs. These drugs should be sold by prescription only, but what generally happens is that the patient simply mentions the name of the drug(s) to the pharmacist, who sells them without any further query. The Health Ministry has stated that it would take steps to end this widespread practice. The sale of expired drugs is another matter that deserves the authorities' attention. The huge demand for pharmacists has led to a crisis in the pharmaceutical service. The health authorities must address the shortage of qualified pharmacists immediately before more unqualified persons enter this critical service. They should also evolve a mechanism to check pharmacies randomly for unqualified personnel. It is heartening to note that the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry is taking steps to implement a special program to resolve this shortage. More students are being encouraged to become pharmacists the 'proper way' by following approved courses and sitting for examinations. A special training program commenced on Friday for 1,000 students registered for the Pharmacists Examination at the Colombo Medical Faculty. This training program will be conducted for one year at 12 training centres islandwide. A comprehensive program must be implemented in collaboration with the private sector to resolve the dearth of health personnel. It is well known that some private health centres do not have qualified persons. This is not conducive to the development of a quality health service. After all, patients' lives are in the hands of medical workers and allied professionals - we cannot afford to have untrained personnel handling such crucial work. |
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