Lisbon, May 6, 2025 (Lusa) — Portugal has a European medicines reserve centre, which guarantees access within 24 hours, according to Infarmed. During the blackout, the population's access to medicines was guaranteed.
In reply to Lusaregarding a report published by Diário de NotíciasonTuesday, which wrote that "Portugal is without a strategic reserve of medicines", Infarmed clarified that during the blackout, the population's access to medicines was not jeopardised because the distribution and dispensing circuit was considered a priority ' even in a situation of prolonged energy failure".
The National Authority for Medicines and Health Products also ensures that national distributors "are obliged to guarantee a minimum stock of medicines for one to two months" and that the operators of the medicine circuit "are subject to specific rules to ensure the continuous availability of medicines".
This situation is defined "in the Medicines Statute and by the Medicines Availability Management Regulation", approved earlier this year.
Diário de Notícias quoted the president of the Pharmacists Association, who complained about the isolation of the sector, which is not part of any Health Contingency Plan, warning that if the blackout had lasted 24 hours, medicines would have been cut off.
Questioned today by Lusa about the constitution of strategic reserves, Infarmed said that "concrete actions have been developed at the national and European level", in liaison with the competent bodies, to "strengthen the resilience of the health system and that essential medicines will be available on time in emergencies".
It recalled the cabinet resolution published last year establishing measures for the constitution of strategic reserves of medicines and medical devices in Portugal, within the scope of the European rescEU Stockpile project.
"This resolution strengthens Portugal's capacity to respond to public health crises, ensuring that essential medicines will be available in emergencies or disasters," he adds.
He explained that the European Strategic Stockpile (rescEU) "is a reserve of European capacities to respond to disasters, fully funded by the EU, which is distributed among several member states and can be activated at any time".
"The EU covers acquisition, operating and maintenance costs," says Infarmed, explaining that the project is “in the technical development phase” and is managed by the Hospital Common Use Service (SUCH), involving other entities from the Ministry of Health.
He added that Portugal has already set up a centre for this European reserve of medicines, medical devices, and diagnostic devices, with 22 centres already set up in 16 countries, "benefiting from the guarantee of access to these products within 24 hours through European civil protection mechanisms."
In a written response sent to Lusa, the Ministry of Health said that this reserve is activated through the Civil Protection Mechanism and responds within 24 hours.
It is up to the National Civil Protection Authority to activate the European mechanism.
According to the Ministry, "this reserve is located at SUCH facilities - which leads a national consortium (DGS, INSA, INFARMED, SPMS and the National Medicines Laboratory, INEM) and is activated whenever there are emergencies, regardless of the profile (blackout, for example)".
At the same time, "a Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan is being drawn up by the DGS".
It adds that, together with this plan, "a new national reserve of medicines and medical devices for public health emergencies will be set up, in collaboration with the National Medicines Laboratory, among others. "
The government also states that "during the blackout, the medicines circuit was never in question, and a Resolution was approved by the cabinet that determined medical emergencies, hospitals, health units and transport services for medicines and medical devices as priority entities".
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