RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Close to a shortage of intubation drugs, the Brazilian government is turning to the international market in an attempt to urgently acquire the supplies and has now secured help from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in the effort to quickly enable international purchases.
According to the deputy director of the institution, Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO is already looking for suppliers of the medicines of the so-called intubation kit, which can then be purchased by Brazil through the organization’s strategic fund.
The fund, which unifies purchases to secure better prices and then delivers the drugs to countries in the region, is widely used by Brazil for the purchase of antiretroviral drugs for AIDS and, according to Barbosa, has already purchased drugs used for intubation at other times.
“Aware of the country’s difficulty, we are currently looking for supply alternatives with international producers,” Barbosa told Reuters.
In a meeting with the representative of PAHO in Brazil, Socorro Gross, this weekend, the organization was informed of the difficulties and has already begun contacts with producing companies.
In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Health said it does intend to seek international purchases via PAHO.
However, despite not being in the strategies listed by the ministry, the Brazilian government also instructed its ambassadors to go in search of medicines and equipment in some countries that produce alternatives that can be quickly imported by Brazil, as confirmed to Reuters by two diplomats involved in the matter.
Read: Mato Grosso state leads ICU unavailability in Brazil; no vacancies for 15 days
The request reached the embassies urgently this weekend for the diplomats to look for suppliers willing to make immediate deliveries of medicines such as midazolam, propofol, and fentanyl, used to sedate and relax patients who need intubation.
In at least one of the countries, contacts with suppliers have already been made and there is the possibility of importation, but the information will be passed on to the Ministry of Health so that it can act.
The Ministry of Health informed on Monday that it has scheduled meetings with supplier companies in Brazil to learn about the situation of domestic production and possibly request stocks that have not yet been sold under contracts.
Last week, in a letter to President Jair Bolsonaro, the Governors’ Forum warned that in most states the medicines can last 20 days at most, and the governors are no longer finding stocks to buy. Moreover, due to demand, prices have skyrocketed in recent months.
Source: Infomoney