At a crucial moment in facing the challenge of drug shortages, for the first time Bosnia and Herzegovina joined European actors at a conference on solving challenges and ensuring access in the field of distribution of drugs and medical devices, held in Brussels, announced the Association of Wholesalers of Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH.
Faruk Hadžić, the president of the Association, actively participated in the conference in the discussion about solutions for the problems that plague the healthcare distribution sector.
The conference focused on two intriguing thematic segments, the first on cybersecurity in healthcare, and the second on the problem of drug shortages.
The potential danger and complex drug crisis requires urgent and innovative strategies.
The association showed its commitment to solving the mentioned problem in cooperation with the European Association of Healthcare Distributors (GIRP) – the umbrella organization of the EU that gathers more than 750 wholesalers of drugs and medical devices, serving 33 European countries.
“Cooperation with GIRP is not only a symbolic act. The findings and exchange of information from the conference lead to innovative solutions, strategic frameworks and initiatives that are key to facing current and future challenges in ensuring the continuity of the supply of medicines and medical devices in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Healthcare distributors are vital and effective partners for member states and the EU as a whole, with official recognition that they are part of critical infrastructure. This formal recognition confirms the important role of our sector and the strength of this cooperation,” said the president of the Association, Faruk Hadžić.
After the conference, the association with 20 members, which together perform more than 84 percent of the distribution of medicines and medical devices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was officially accepted as a member of GIRP.
GIRP is cooperating with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on the development of a revolutionary platform for monitoring drug shortages in the EU, which represents a potential problem both in Europe and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hadžić says that the Association will make maximum efforts at the level of industry and decision-makers in order to create sustainable solutions and ensure that patients and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina do not suffer from a lack of medicines.
The importance of drug and medical equipment wholesalers in the supply chain in the EU was confirmed by a joint visit to the EU Parliament during the conference, Fena reports.
