Bandar Kuching MP urges government to take measures for insulin shortage

KUCHING (Aug 22): The government is urged to take short, mid and long-term measures to address and prevent any shortage of insulin in the country in ensuring the well-being of diabetic individuals.

In making this call yesterday, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii said this in response to the current shortage of insulin that would particularly affect vulnerable populations, including the elderly, low-income patients and those living in rural areas with limited access to healthcare resources.

“We are even getting reports that due to the shortage, patients are forced to switch to oral medications, which may not be as effective.

“This increases the risk of possible uncontrollable blood sugar levels as well as complications such as heart disease, kidney failure and life-threatening situations like diabetic ketoacidosis.

“What’s concerning is this seems to be an annual issue, which reflects poor planning and management on the government’s side in ensuring steady supply of such critical medication,” he said in a statement.

Dr Yii, who is a special advisor to the Health Minister, said as a short-term measure, the government must ensure there are no sudden price hikes due to low supply of such medication.

“The government can also consider short-term subsidies for patients to get insulin from alternative sources, including from the private sector, besides increasing awareness of insulin adherence and education against wastage among existing patients,” he said.

For mid-term measures, he said the government should be looking at alternative sources both locally and internationally for insulin, including fast-tracking approvals (if it meets all regulatory requirements) for alternative insulin sources and facilitating imports from other countries, if necessary.

He said the government can run an audit and necessary optimisation of the supply chain, including improving Stockpiling and Inventory Management, to ensure an adequate stockpile of insulin, adding that this would ensure effective inventory management to prevent shortages at the national and local levels on an annual basis.

Dr Yii also suggested the government look at strengthening collaboration with pharmaceutical companies to secure long-term supply contracts and encourage local production of insulin to reduce dependence on imports.

“In Malaysia, there are local manufacturers, including one in Johor.

“There should be incentives for these local manufacturers to prioritise domestic supplies, especially in times of shortage, on top of better investment in local insulin production facilities to ensure medicinal security,” he added.

In the long-term, he said the core issue is that Malaysia has non-communicable diseases (NCDs) crisis, especially the prevalence of diabetes.

As such, Dr Yii said holistic policies must be put in place, such as imposing reasonable taxation, to discourage usage of sugar in the daily lives among Malaysians.

“If we do not nip this issue in the bud, we will continue to have annual shortages, and worse, we will continue to age as an unhealthy nation,” he said.

Despite so, he believed that with a concentrated effort, the government could address this issue which affects not just the health of Malaysians, but also the economy and productivity of the nation.