Health Sector Logistics and Pharmaceutical Industry in Belarus
The Republican Specialized Production and Commercial Enterprise Belmedtekhnika pursues the governmental policy in the sphere of health sector logistics and in charge of the following:
- determines the needs of the health sector institutions and other providers in medical equipment, spares and consumables based on modern information technologies;
- supplying the above products to health institutions and selling them through wholesale and retail subsidiaries, including through leasing and consignment;
- exporting locally manufactured medical equipment and medical products;
- installing, maintaining and repairing medical equipment including the warranty repair;
- providing technical assistance to health care institutions in mastering and using medical equipment, as well as exerting control over its operation.
The local pharmaceutical industry covers only 15% of the total needs of the Belarusian market and 20% of the nomenclature needs. To develop new modern competitive pharmaceuticals, the State Scientific and Technical Program Pharmaceuticals has been approved.
The Belbiofarm Concern producing and selling pharmaceuticals and microbiological products addresses problems of pharmaceutical industry development in Belarus in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
The following 7 enterprises produce pharmaceuticals: Joint-Stock Company Belmedpreparaty, Borisov Plant of Medical Preparations, Nesvizh Plant of Medical Preparations, Enterprise of Medical and Diagnostic Preparations Dialekt, Joint Venture Minsk-Interkaps, the Enterprise Ekzon and the Enterprise Farmtekhnologiya.
To more fully meet the needs of the Belarusian population in efficient domestically produced drugs, the Council of Ministers approved the State Program of Development of Pharmaceutical Industry of the Republic of Belarus for 1999–2005 on March 25th 1999, that provides for a dynamic development of the domestic pharmaceutical industry with the state regulation of the environment for efficient operation of the sectoral enterprises.
The priority areas of the domestic pharmaceutical industry development include actions aimed at designing and implementing comprehensive targeted measures to provide the local raw materials stock, commercially produce pharmaceutical substances in small batches, produce medical glassware, auxiliary materials and products to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical industry.
III. Answer the following questions to the text.
1. What are the functions of Belmedtekhnika?
2. How much of the total needs of the Belarusian market does the local pharmaceutical industry cover?
3. What enterprises produce pharmaceuticals in Belarus?
4. Why was the State Program of Development of Pharmaceutical Industry of the Republic of Belarus approved?
5. What are the priority areas of the domestic pharmaceutical industry development?
IV.Find key words, phrases and topic sentences which best express general meaning of each paragraph.
V. Give the main points of the text in 5-7 sentences.