Brazil confronts growing drug shortages in pharmacies and hospitals

Supply chains for medicines are under strain worldwide, with Europe, North America and Oceania reporting interruptions in antibiotics, chronic‑disease treatments, oncology drugs and mental‑health medications. Experts note that many active pharmaceutical ingredients are produced by a limited number of manufacturers, making the system vulnerable to raw‑material shortages, logistical bottlenecks, regulatory changes and geopolitical conflicts. Risk‑management strategies, alternative supplier qualification and predictive‑analytics tools are being promoted to improve resilience.

In Brazil, patients at the Centro Estadual de Medicação de Alto Custo (Cemac) Juarez Barbosa in Goiânia are experiencing severe delays and frequent unavailability of high‑cost medicines for conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and other serious illnesses. Complaints describe hours‑long waits, insufficient staffing, inadequate facilities and a lack of medication on the day of scheduled pick‑up, forcing some patients to miss work or risk losing employment. The state health department attributes part of the problem to supply issues from the Ministry of Health and pharmaceutical vendors.