Essential drugs not available in 24 states: CAG

Essential drugs for patients were not available in 24 states and medicines were issued without prescribed quality checks or observing their expiry dates, exposing patients to health risks, the country's audit watchdog CAG has found.

The Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on 'Performance Audit of the Reproductive and Child Health under National Rural Health Mission' which was tabled in Parliament on Friday also found a shortage of doctors and paramedical staff in almost all selected facilities.

The performance audit covered the period from 2011-12 to 2015-16.

As per the report, instances of non-availability of essential drugs were observed in 24 states, including Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.

In eight states, essential medicines and consumables such as Vitamin A, contraceptive pills, ORS packets, RTI/STI drugs, essential obstetric kits etc were not available in selected health facilities.