‘Robust mechanism in place to address any supply gap in essential medicines’

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Health Minister K.G. Arunraj on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) said a robust monitoring mechanism and Standard Operating Procedure were in place to address any transient supply gap in essential medicines, including surfactants, through immediate local purchase.

In a social media post, the Health Minister responded to a report published in The Hindu — ‘Tamil Nadu government hospitals running short of critical medicines for pre-term babies’ — on the shortage of surfactants for the past few months.

“All deans of medical college hospitals and Joint Directors of Health Services are instructed to utilise the funds readily available at the institutional level — including the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme funds and Special Newborn Care Unit operational costs — to procure surfactants without any delay. No SNCU in the State is permitted to keep a pre-term newborn waiting for want of this life-saving medicine when funds and a procurement mechanism are available at the institution itself,” he said.

“As on date, ₹409.81 crore under the Directorate of Medical Education and ₹34.17 crore under the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services are available at the disposal of institutions for such procurement. There is no financial constraint in ensuring uninterrupted availability of surfactants,” the Minister said.

Dr. Arunraj added that instructions to utilise locally available funds were reiterated to all Chief Medical Officers and heads of the Department of Paediatrics. Compliance will be closely monitored, and any lapse at the institutional level in invoking the local purchase mechanism will be viewed seriously, he said.

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