A close look at Oman’s pharmaceutical industry

Since the early 1980s, the Sultanate of Oman has been one of the first countries in the MENA region to establish “a state reserve stock” of essential medicines and medical supplies to deal with emergency situations, mitigate the effects of epidemics and disasters, and provide the necessary medical and emergency care at the proper time.

In 1983, the reserve stock budget was increased from OMR 800,000 ($2.01 million) to OMR 1.1 million, and the approved budget for 2004 was raised to OMR 4.2 million. In 2005, a warehouse with a storage capacity of 1,520 square meters was built in the Wilayat of Bausher in Muscat Governorate, to accommodate the increased volume of stored medicines and medical supplies.

As part of the state’s ongoing efforts to improve reserve stock in the Sultanate and achieve pharmaceutical and medical security, as Oman imports more than 90% of its pharmaceutical and medical needs from abroad, the Sultanate's reserve stock budget was recently increased to OMR 10 million for the current fiscal year, so that a proper reserve stock can be provided to cover the state's consumption for a period of four to six months in the event of a stock shortage in supplies or emergency global production problems. The state reserve stock has proven its effectiveness in meeting the needs of Oman's health institutions for life-saving drugs and essential medications during global closures and supply disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian War.