AB Party General Secretary Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad said the government has taken a position against the public by repealing policies governing essential medicines and their prices. Speaking at a press conference at the party’s central office in Bijoynagar on Thursday, he said the decision ignored ordinary and low-income people while prioritising medicine businesses.

Fuad said medicines are life-saving goods rather than merely commercial products, and that patients and the public should remain central to medicine policy. He said nearly 98 percent of medicines are produced domestically, yet people still face high prices. The 1994 Health Ministry circular listed 117 essential medicines, while the interim government’s 2026 policies expanded the list to 297.

According to Fuad, the current government repealed the 2026 Essential Medicines List and Medicine Price Determination Method on August 3 and returned to the earlier framework. AB Party issued seven reform demands, including reinstating the repealed policies, enforcing affordable price controls, reducing brand-based price disparities, curbing unethical incentives for doctors, and adopting long-term measures to strengthen the industry after LDC graduation.