Atila Sertel, an MP of the parliamentary main opposition party CHP, stated that drug importation of Turkey almost halted since the ruling AKP party designated the Euro peg in imported drugs as 2,69 Turkish Liras, while Euro has reached to 6 Turkish Liras. Sertel said "Exchange rate in Euro is increasing incessantly, but it is not increased in imported drugs. Around 7 hundred imported drugs are not available in the market. This is because the government has mistakes in designating drug prices and trying to make saving in healthcare. Everything aside, savings policy in health care is unacceptable."
Sertel added that the ruling AKP government has been following an "erroneous policy to control the money spent on healthcare. They set a criteria to designate drug prices and set Euro peg in imported drugs." Sertel said the Ministry of Health has to take necessary measures because while the people who have the means are able to buy these drugs from other countries, the poor cannot.
The ruling AKP government’s "Health Transformation Program" led to an increase in Turkey's dependency on foreign drugs and medical products companies. Turkey was able to meet up to 70% of its drug needs from the domestic pharmaceutical industry before putting the Customs Union Agreement into effect with the European Union in 1996. Yet, today Turkey is more dependent on external financial and pharmaceutical sources. After the Social Security Institution's (SSK) drug factory providing cheaper drugs for the citizens was closed in 2005, there is no a public drug production in Turkey today, except the drug production factory of the Ministry of National Defense which produces drugs only for the military. Domestic pharmaceutical companies such as Eczacıbaşı Pharmaceuticals, which have been producing drugs with the public funding for years, have been sold to international monopolies and cartels in the last twelve years.
