The government should give preferential treatment to quality importers as well as state pharmaceutical manufacturers to curb illegally imported oriental medicine, according to a proposal by the District 5 People’s Committee at a meeting with a delegation from the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council.

Herbal medicines are displayed at a shop in Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street

The import of herbal medicine is a hot headline because it is out of government control. Doctor Phan Van Nghiem from the HCMC Department of Health said that the quantity of illegal traditional medicine is enormous and the quality cannot be checked.

Currently, of around 700 herbal items in circulation in Viet Nam, only 122 are allowed by the Vietnamese Health Ministry, as reported by the District 5 Department of Health and the HCMC Department of Health.

More and more herbal drugs are illegally imported because of governmental regulations, announced the District 5 Department of Health.

It said that the Vietnamese Health Ministry approved over 600 medical items before 2002; however, only 122 have stayed on the list since 2002.

Nevertheless, people have gotten used to those drugs that were cut from the list, and so those drugs continue to be illegally imported into the country to meet demand.

The flip side of the coin is that the Drug Administration of Viet Nam has demanded a lot from official importers whose drugs meet international and WHO goods manufacturing practice requirements.

To resolve illegal herbal medicine imports, the Vietnamese Health Ministry and city leaders should give preferential treatment to and create favorable conditions for importers and state pharmaceutical manufacturers that deal in quality drugs.