Medicine Tonelata, over-term

According to the practice, products like this are quarantined into a stock in the corner of the pharmacy.

The only thing placed on the stock is a sheet in which the names of all the expired products are written so that they can then be registered to the Pharmacechotic Inspectorate lists.

“Reregistered, quarantined and preserved until the completion of all procedures”, said Resmie Thaqi, director of the pharmaceutical Inspectorate.

In addition to the drugs, such drugs are available at health centres in each of Kosovo's countries.

“In family medicine centres or hospitals there are such drugs, or even in private drugs, there are such drugs that should be destroyed”, said Arjant Jakupi, chairman of the Oda of Pharmacists.

But what really happens to these products?

In a response to Tv1, the Ministry of Health has confirmed that the recent elimination of drugs in Kosovo was carried out in 2011.

“Process has several legal dilemmas that must be resolved in advance”, says the Health Ministry's response.

But from this the minister was confirmed that the state of the Central Depos where these drugs are stored is not good.

And so did the 1st team, during their field work.

Water leaks from the ceilings of the warehouse are at risk not only of expired drugs but also of use.

And placed on top of each other in a disorderly manner, the boxes in this section are filled with over eight years of expired drugs.

But despite excessive drugs, there are both inside and outside Depos, the Ministry of Health says they are not known how much they are.

Indiscriminate drugs, the Association of Patients of Kosovo considers them mere malmanagement.

This shows that we don't have days to plan and manage drugs that are bought on citizen taxes, and now we have to pay a lot of money to eliminate”, said Besim Kodra from the Association of Patients.

The responsibility for this, the chairman of the Health Commission, Bekim Haxhiu, is sought by former health ministry leaders.

Of course, there should be a strategy on the side of the MSH, and I hold all those managers who led with this dictatorship” responsible for this.

Criticism against the former ministers also provides the connoisseur, Dielza Luza.

A situation like this tells us that no health minister has had a very high priority on the drugs”, she said.

But how is controlling pharmaceutical drugs conducted and smuggling with expired drugs?

“We have access to drugs, mainly over-term medicines, or medicines we've seized, are always considered smuggled”, the Adriatic Stavileci, Kosovo Customs, said.

Although, The SSH says it has not carried out the destruction of medicines expired since 2011, their annihilation is occurring in Kosovo.

And this is being done by private companies licensed by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning for the annihilation of medical waste.

“Evricon”-spk is equipped with the license for waste management and environmental permission for the destruction of medical waste and also the M Company. ET BAT is equipped with Integrated Environmental Permission for Exile”, the MMPH explains.

However, by 2019 these companies are contracted individually by municipalities.

And in the ARBK, only the METBAT company has in the primary field recovery of classified materials.

This company (METBAT) has stated over the phone with the team of Vv1 during the end of the year that it was contracted with several municipalities for the destruction of pharmaceutical drugs.

And the price for a kilo starts at 2 euros. While prices range from the amount of expired drugs that each municipality has.

Thus, only in the open call for tenders in the town of Peja, the price for drug disposal has been 10,000 euros.

However, does this or other licensed companies meet the conditions for drug destruction?

The two companies have been confronted in court due to a lack of specific license or the failure to meet the conditions for drug annihilation.

And for their monitoring, the Health Ministry has said it is done by the municipalities themselves.

“Monitore of the annihilation of medical waste in municipalities itself is done by municipalities, companies that have contract links, as well as the pharmaceutical Inspectorate, while an action plan is being prepared at the site for their annihilation”, the MSH response reported.

But it has denied just that the Pec Community, which has been contracting to eliminate drugs indefinitely.

“In the contract, what we have, the moment the company withdraws from us, all responsibility goes to the company”, said Petit Loci, Health Director in Pec.

And pharmaceutical inspectors say they do inspections only during the extermination process.

And from the Ministry of Environment, Iv1 has learned that the METBAT company, the annihilation of expired drugs, does so through burning, burying or throwing in water.

There's a furnace behind me in the place where the burning of medicine is over-term. And although we have been trying to get images during their burning process for weeks, this is not being allowed by oven supervisors”, says the Ministry's response.

On the last visit of the television team to this company, its supervisors were told that filters were burned.

I can't be cured for this part. No, we can't, we've been burned by a piece of the filters, now until we get the letter and they take time bajagi. Even with that director, I talked to him. He said no, we're not working in that direction.

However, such elimination of expired drugs is not appropriate according to environmental connoisseur Valentine Uka.

Distraction is done improperly and professionally that causes environmental pollution, including water, soil and air”, she said.

Since 1999, a considerable amount of medicines have been introduced in Kosovo, mainly a few months before expiration, in the form of donations, but also in other forms.