Ballari: Dr Gopal Dabade, the leader of the Drug Action Forum Karnataka and the Samgra Arogya Andolan Karnataka, called for a thorough investigation into the state’s concerning rise in maternal mortality.
During a press conference held on Friday, he pointed out that the cause linked to these fatalities was a contaminated solution supplied by a company based in West Bengal. He expressed his disbelief at the decision to continue sourcing from this supplier, given their previous record of delivering substandard medications.
Dr Dabade criticised the govt for its perceived complicity in this issue, asking, “Why were postmortem examinations not conducted on the deceased new mothers? How can the same medicine be deemed defective in one laboratory and acceptable in another?”
He alleged, “The medicines entering the state are being distributed without proper testing. Each batch must undergo scrutiny. We cannot rely on govt hospitals to procure medications from external pharmacies. Why is Karnataka lagging behind states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan, which manage their own medicine supply?”
Advocating for the implementation of the ‘Right to Health’ Act in Karnataka, modelled after Rajasthan, Dr Dabade stated, “The campaign that began in Bidar on Feb 3 reached Ballari and will continue to various districts, culminating in Bengaluru on Feb 14. Our petition will be delivered from the Ambedkar Sangha office to the DC’s office via a procession and subsequently forwarded to the chief minister and health minister through the district administration.”
Mohammed Noor, Parveen Banu, Chandrakumari, Lakshmi Narasimha, Shekhar Babu, Veena, and others attended the press conference.
