Business leaders sound a warning: Shortage of medical devices could lead to healthcare crisis

KARACHI: Pakistan is facing a shortage of medical devices, which could lead to a healthcare crisis if regulatory processes are not streamlined. Industry leaders have urged authorities to expedite the registration process and extend deadlines for all classes of medical devices.

At an emergency press conference at the Karachi Press Club, representatives of Healthcare Devices of Pakistan, the Pakistan Chemists and Druggists Association (PCDA), and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) called for immediate action. They warned that delays in approvals and regulatory hurdles are disrupting the supply of essential medical equipment across the country.

Chairman of Healthcare Devices of Pakistan, Syed Umar Ahmed, stated that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had set a registration deadline of December 31, 2024, for medical device imports, but despite assurances, thousands of applications remain stuck in the approval process as the country enters March 2025.

He revealed that shipments of medical devices have been halted at Lahore Airport, causing heavy financial losses to importers and disrupting patient care in hospitals. He urged the government to accelerate the registration process and extend the deadline to prevent a worsening crisis.

Spokesperson for Healthcare Devices of Pakistan, Adnan Siddiqui, highlighted that 90% of Pakistan’s medical devices are imported, including surgical instruments, diagnostic machines, MRIs, CT scans, cardiac stents, dialysis machines, and other essential medical equipment.

He stressed that without an efficient registration system, hospitals will struggle to provide life-saving treatments, including cardiac surgeries, organ transplants, and other advanced medical procedures. He added that applications for registrations remain pending for years, and by the time approvals are granted, the technology has already become outdated, putting patients at a disadvantage.

Chairman of the Pakistan Chemists and Druggists Association (PCDA), Abdul Samad Budhani, warned that the healthcare sector is already under immense strain, and a further shortage of medical devices could severely impact hospital operations and treatments.

He emphasized that this is not just an issue for importers or the medical device industry but a national problem. Without urgent intervention to expedite registrations and extend deadlines, hospitals across the country will face a severe shortage of critical medical supplies in the coming months.

Representative of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Abid Maniar, called for immediate government intervention to resolve the crisis. He criticized the complex registration process, noting that while other countries streamline medical device approvals, Pakistan’s system remains unnecessarily complicated, with approvals taking four to five years.

He urged the authorities to adopt a more efficient mechanism to ensure timely registration of medical devices, allowing hospitals to access modern healthcare technologies.

The industry leaders appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal to take immediate notice of the crisis, extend the registration deadline for all medical devices, and implement urgent measures to accelerate the approval process. They warned that without swift action, the shortage of medical devices will worsen, jeopardizing patient care and hospital operations across the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025