The Kerala Private Pharmacists Association (KPPA), an association representing qualified pharmacists working in the private sector, has demanded to the state government to increase the number of pharmacists in the government sector.

For submission of its demand, the association mobilized the support of more than 5000 pharmacists from all over Kerala and held a march from the northernmost district (Kasargodu) to the state capital in the south and handed over a memorandum to the health minister and served copies of the same to all the members of the Legislative Assembly.

The pharmacists wanted the government to initiate policies for appointing qualified and registered pharmacists in the government sector. Plenty of vacancies are lying vacant in several healthcare institutions and the situation of government pharmacies are very pathetic due to lack of dispensers there. Government must address the grievances of the pharmacy staff in the government hospitals that they are suffering from overload of work. Besides, government should look into the problems of poor remuneration now available to the pharmacists working in the government and private sectors.

The pharmacists also demanded that government should introduce a living wages system to the jobless pharmacy diploma holders and graduates of pharmacy and undertake myriad programmes under the health ministry to protect the lives of the qualified unemployed pharmacists who are part of the healthcare management system.

For the general public, throughout the yatra, the association raised a demand that the free drug distribution system now prevailing in the state should be made more efficient and well-organised. Likewise, steps should be taken to control the rise in drug prices and protect the small scale drug distribution sector.  Taxes of any kind on drugs should be exempted.

As a state issue, KPPA wanted the government to avoid its sluggish attitude towards the state public sector enterprise, Kerala State Drugs & Pharmaceuticals (KSDP), and embark on projects to protect the company.

On the part of national issues, the state march of the pharmacists highlighted several demands including shifting of department of pharmaceuticals from ministry of chemicals & fertilizers to the ministry of health & family welfare.