FDA together with the Division of Public Health Emergency Management under the Office of the Permanent Secretary and the concerned organizations both internal and external the Ministry of Public Health join hands to implement the plan aimed at getting the medicine and medical supply be ready and appropriate for being supported in the emergency situation.

Today (28 March 2024), Dr. Withid Sariddeechaikool, Deputy Secretary-General of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chaired the workshop which highlighted the development of the list of medicine and medical supply and the list of health supply kit to assist people in need, and this proactive event was planned for supporting in the emergency situation.

The Deputy Secretary-General of FDA revealed that for combating the emergency situation, the health-related preparation is crucial especially the readiness for medicine and medical supply which should be planned ahead in order to deal with the social and the global changes that included not only the new pandemic but also the natural disaster and the health hazards. As a consequence, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the regulator of the medicine and medical supply product, has joined hands with the Division of Public Health Emergency Management under the Office of the Permanent Secretary and the concerned organizations both internal and external the Ministry of Public Health such as National Security Council, Disaster Management Center under Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, National Health Security Office, Social Security Office, the representatives from the private sector, club, association and the civil society, in assessing the readiness for medical and public health resources and upon its results, the mechanisms and types of medicine and medical supply management used in the emergency situation would be developed depending on the health hazards. This assessment intended to manage the medicine and the medical supply to be sufficient and appropriate for the public health demand and also help the patients affected by the shortage of medicine minimize such effects as much as possible.

The Deputy Secretary-General of FDA stated more that the measures of FDA focused on securing the necessary medicine and medical supply through implementing the medicine database in order to track and trace in the distribution of health products throughout the chain, conducting the stockpile of medicine and medical supply, operating the searching and reporting system for medicine information, promoting the manufacturing of medicine used in the country while enabling the country to become self-sufficient in case of emergency or crisis situation, and lastly collaborating with every concerned sector. In conclusion, if Thailand has a well-prepared and efficient mechanism for medicine and medical supply management during the public health emergency situation, the citizens of the country can then access the medicine and the medical supply in time or get the least impact due to the public health emergency situation.

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                                                                                                        News Publication Date: 28 March 2024