Paediatricians call for action against medicine shortage
Drugs for children and adolescents are in short supply across Europe, warn paediatrician associations in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France and Italy. They are calling on health ministers to address the significant shortage quickly, reliably and permanently.
They made the demand in open letters to their respective health ministers, the Swiss Paediatricians Association said on MondayExternal link. The Swiss letter was addressed to Alain Berset.
“Just a few years ago it was unimaginable that the health of our children and adolescents would be permanently endangered by acute shortages in the availability of, for example, antibiotics, antipyretics and painkillers, asthma medicines and vaccines,” they wrote.
+ Why Switzerland is running out of pharmaceuticals
Children and adolescents need comparatively few and relatively inexpensive medicines, which are not necessarily interchangeable with medicines for adults, they explained. “The shortages would mean that treatments could no longer be carried out in a manner suitable for children and in accordance with the therapy guidelines.”
The Swiss paediatricians also pointed to the UN Convention on the Rights of the ChildExternal link, where the right of children to the highest attainable standard of health is enshrined.
“The insufficient production and storage of basic medicines for children violates this right,” they said.
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