Bosnian pharmacies have been facing shortages of medicines supplies lately, but adequate substitutes are being offered to avoid major problems in supplying the market.

The Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Bosnia and Herzegovina said that there are occasional interruptions in the supply of certain drugs on the BiH market.

They state that a large number of drugs have substitutes, in the sense that it is a drug with the same active substance from another manufacturer or a drug used for the same indication.

“This is the reason that there have been no major problems in the supply of the market, so far,” the Agency told FENA news agency, without specifying which medicines exactly are most lacking.

The European Commission published the first EU list of critical medicines with more than 200 active substances, at the end of 2023.

It is an important part of the EU's efforts within the European Health Union to provide patients with the medicines they need by promoting the secure supply of critical medicines and preventing shortages.

Medicine is considered critical if it is key to ensuring continuity of care, providing quality healthcare and guaranteeing a high level of public health protection in Europe.

The BiH Medicines and Medical Devices Agency also warned that the consumption of antibiotics is on the rise.

The excessive use of antibiotics is dangerously undermining their effectiveness and increasing resistance that could be responsible for 10 million deaths per year worldwide by 2050, the European branch of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned recently.