The Desperate Need for Quality Assurance – We need labs to test - Harmful Drugs & Agricultural Inputs

With the current Glyphosate argument in full swing, and the importation of substandard drugs with impunity for profit, that our people are forced to take as a necessity, unless there is an acceptable regimen of testing in place, we cannot opine one way or another if the cure is worse than the disease!

So for example if the disease is CKDU and the cure is the banning of Glyphosate, then unless we have means to test alternatives – we may be killing our citizens by this ban, (because people use worse alternatives that will kill them in less time) all thanks to unscientific heretics like Ven Rathana Thero and the likes of self-serving professors, like Channa Jayasumana, of Rajarata University, an expert in CKDU (who now thinks he is an expert on Glyphosate, without it being tested for its constituent parts)

He is one of the youngest tenured professors in Sri Lanka, whom I admired at one time, but am now convinced, he has put his academic credentials aside, to follow a questionable political agenda in making asinine statements against the use of glyphosate, (and pontificating) that could arguably warrant a traitor tag attached to this man, as the consequence of those acting on his edicts may result in hastening death!

As ONE example of what I wish to have answers to and no one seems to be able to provide me with one, I would hesitate to say that MSG coming under the trade name AJINOMOTO which is used as a food supplement in many eateries, unknown to us to make awful food taste better, is also now used as a Weedicide in very high concentrations by farmers, who swear to me it works. (by the way, I don't believe we need a lab for this issue, as the literature is rife and needs to be studied and acted upon)

So I am appalled that we are eating this weedicide and no one is commenting on this with a louder voice than Glyphosate, which further convinces me of the credentials of the GMOA, working on a political agenda, and who should ONLY concentrate on the Public Health of the people who live in Sri Lanka, to improve their general health. Time they do something to earn respect.

However, as the most powerful trade union, I must surmise that all they do, will increase the patients who wish to avail themselves of their services, NOT, as I would wish, to PREVENT disease, Communicable and Non-Communicable in the public at large. Surely this should be the overall goal of all of us who have a duty to do our utmost to Communicate, nutritional best practice, health best practice, behavioral best practice, to inform and change practice in society to lower their propensity for requiring medical attention, PERIOD, with no ifs and buts!

Surprise, surprise they don’t want us to do that as they will lose their lucrative patients that keep them in clover, at the expense of the poor, who are shifted from pillar to post by the arrogant GMOA membership, who think they are owed a living when in fact they owe us a living, for getting a free education, for which if they paid their cost of Rs15M, would behave more rationally/sensibly. 

IN getting back to the main theme of my essay, I show a link below to an recent article which if read is self-explanatory that highlights the crying need for testing facilities, so we are better informed and armed to make decisions in the best interests of our citizens.

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180415/news/tainted-medicinal-drugs-urgent-need-for-quality-assurance-labs-289874.html

A REMINDER OF THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG – TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF ALL THOSE WHO LIVE IN THIS ISLE

It would therefore be a better subject for the GMOA if they want to have any credibility with the public to pursue this need, surely there are spots for their bright members who wish to do research and get involved with testing if these labs are set up!

The link above only talked about medicinal drugs that the National Medical Drugs Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) was not up to the mark to do a proper job in this regulation. I would add that the testing be done of all imported and locally manufactured, weedicides, herbicides and the like to the same standard as medicinal drugs as they are also indirectly ingested by humans. They can both be given the same level of priority.

What is the role of the Government? We tend to forget this in all this CHAFFF

It is to protect its citizens from harm, surely!

If so profiteers, of which Sri Lanka is awash, will tend to exploit a situation for their benefit, when the Government abrogates from this obligation and instead spend their time splitting hairs in the Diyawanna with the Opposition, neither of whom seem to care ONE IOTA for the people, as made obvious, by this lack of control in these critical areas that affect public health.

SUMMARY

The time has come for us to abolish about 10 or more unnecessary Ministries that do JACK SHIT and instead have ONE ministry which overseas and recommends to our people crying out for expert advice, on what is best for them to eat, what medicines is best for them to take, what lifestyle practices it is best for them to adopt. 

Their (the ministry, its departments and the bodies working under it) agenda is promoting a healthy population, so they have the right to admonish overuse of harmful practices, be it eating betal, smoking, taking drugs, alcohol, and work in tandem with the Ministry of the Environment, arguably the most important ministry in the land, to ensure that the public have clean water to drink, clean food to eat, and clean air to breathe. 

NONE OF WHICH is being done presently, despite the proliferation of ministries that have been set up that don’t cover any of the above essentials for life, let alone quality of life for the people who live in Sri Lanka. Is there an alternative?

PS The Ministry of Health has its hand full in managing Hospitals and Clinics. They have a massive task to ensure this is done most efficiently and cost effectively, for the benefit of the patients, so don't add this to their brief, it needs to be handled separately as I have outlined above with reasons why.