JFDA tightens regulations around bringing pharmaceutical drugs into Kingdom

AMMAN — Patients in Jordan are allowed to import a sufficient quantity of pharmaceutical drugs for a period not exceeding three months for their personal use after obtaining necessary approvals from the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA), the Administration announced.

JFDA Director Nizar Muhaidat said that patients can obtain these approvals by submitting a medical report and an official prescription.

In a JFDA statement, Muhaidat stressed that the decision was aimed to ensure the safety of the patients by limiting the import of unregistered medications in commercial quantities. 

The statement added that during periodic inspections, supervision teams regularly find commercial quantities of unregistered medications from unknown sources, which are carried by travellers. 

The JFDA stated that the unregistered medication is not safe for use due to its lack of lab-analysis by the JFDA laboratories, as well as the failure to follow the correct transport procedures of the drugs.

The JFDA decision to prevent the entry of any drug to Jordan without approval, regardless of its quantity, has sparked anger among Jordanians on social media platforms.

Omar Atout, a Twitter user tweeted in Arabic: “The government should review the exaggerated drug prices instead of banning citizens, who have the opportunity to travel or know someone returning from travel, from getting their medicine for much lower prices.”

Twitter user Ahed Awwad wondered if the decision is “legal” regarding people who live abroad and have a chronic health condition and are treated in the country in which they live most days of the year within a specific treatment plan and take medication prescribed in that country and want to visit Jordan for a vacation.

“There are people who have medical insurance that provides them with medicine only in the country in which they work and live,” Awwad tweeted in Arabic.

Sadeen Murad, a Jordanian expat told The Jordan Times that she gets medications for herself and for her parents from abroad because they are not only cheaper, but also because most of the medication is unavailable in Jordan.

“It is unfair to make such a decision. Some painkillers and certain medications for my mother’s illness are not always available in Jordan, and when they are available, they are super expensive, which is why we resort to getting medicine when we travel,” Murad said.

On the other hand, some citizens praised the decision, describing it as a way to protect people from unlicensed and unregistered medication.

A Twitter user tweeted in Arabic: “The decision already exists and is not new, and it is intended to limit the entry of unlicensed or adulterated medicines, as many medicines have been monitored in unaccredited clinics and pharmacies and their safety is questionable.”

Mohammed Khamees, a pharmacist in Amman, expressed his content with the new decision.

“There is a crazy huge demand for slimming drugs, which enter Jordan illegally and are not approved by the JFDA, and they are dangerous to health. Unfortunately, they are sold online and so many people are scammed and end up having bad side effects,” Khamees told The Jordan Times.

He said that the decision will help stop the import of such drugs which not only are bad for people’s health but most importantly are a “scam”.