European pediatricians warn of the shortage of several medicines for children

“The health of our children and young people is at risk due to the lack of medicines throughout Europe”, alert pediatricians in several European countries. In an open letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, on Saturday April 29, they ask “a fast, reliable and durable solution” to this shortage. The signatories, including the president of the Association française de pédiatrie ambulatoire (AFPA), Andréas Werner, stress in this letter the need for antibiotics, analgesics, medicines for fever and asthma, as well as than vaccines.

“We consider it the responsibility of policy makers to ensure sufficient production and supply to build up stocks of important medicines for basic pediatric care in Europe”they write in this letter addressed to the Ministers of Health of Germany, France, South Tyrol (Italy), Austria and Switzerland.

Medicines out of stock this winter in France

In France, in recent months, tensions have weighed on the stocks of several drugs. Several antibiotics, including amoxicillin, widely prescribed to children, were thus out of stock this winter. At the beginning of February, the Minister of Health announced a plan aimed at preventing any future crisis. In particular, the government has declared that it will authorize price increases for certain essential generics, in order to encourage manufacturers to continue their production.

After the publication of the text in the german newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, the Minister of Health across the Rhine, Karl Lauterbach, reacted on Twitter, describing the concern of health professionals as “justified”, while a law on the subject is currently being examined by the German parliament.