The government finally published its weekly list showing the out-of-stock medicines on Monday, two months since the last time it did, this time indicating that 22 medicines are out-of-stock.

The last time the government published this list was on 7 November 2022, which was pointed out by the PN over a week ago when it said that there are a growing number of medicines which are out of stock, which will consequently lead to more patients in hospitals.

The government initially replied that everything was under control.

The PN then requested for an urgent meeting with the Parliamentary Health Committee to discuss the issue of out-of-stock medicine. On the insistence of the PN, the government called a parliamentary health committee meeting over the issue, which will be held on 16 January.

In reaction to the list published by the government, the PN said that the government has confirmed that there is a serious problem, as the list shows 22 medicines out of stock, some of which have not been available for several weeks, the PN said.

"The list also shows that this problem will continue in the coming weeks because the government is not in a position to say when it will be resolved. Instead, in most cases of medicines indicated as out of stock, the government is blaming the suppliers," the PN said.

The PN has also asked the government to publish a list of medicines that are low in stock.

The PN said that with this list, medicine importers can help the government obtain the medicines that are low in stock rather than wait until the medicines are out of stock.