President Lee sends pizza to health ministry, drug safety agency staff for Middle East war response

[From the social media account of Oh Yu-kyung, commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety]

President Lee Jae Myung has sent pizza to staff at the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in recognition of their work managing medical device supply disruptions following the outbreak of the Middle East war.

Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyung shared the news on her social media account Monday, writing: "The president sent us pizza for the hard work our staff put in responding to the Middle East war. Thank you, Mr. President." She added that she would share the pizza with staff who had "worked around the clock monitoring the situation on the ground in response to the Middle East war."

Jeong said the supply of medicines and medical devices is "directly tied to patients' ability to receive treatment," adding that "even minor anxiety can become a major concern for medical institutions, pharmacies and patients waiting for care."

[From the social media account of Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyung]

"Since the Middle East war began, we have been monitoring the supply of medicines and medical devices while also looking into difficulties at medical sites and the welfare of vulnerable groups," she said. "Ensuring that treatment and care for the people remain unshaken, especially in times of crisis, is the ministry's role."

She also expressed gratitude to those working alongside the ministry. "I want to thank the medical institutions, pharmacies, manufacturers, distributors, health and pharmaceutical associations, local government officials, and our own staff who have been quietly holding the line," she said. "We will gratefully enjoy the pizza the president sent us. We will eat well and take even better care of the people's health and livelihoods."

Oh Yu-kyung, commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, also posted on her social media account the same day, announcing that "for the first time in the agency's history, the president sent us a surprise pizza gift."

Oh said "the president encouraged the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety staff, who have been working tirelessly since the Middle East war to stabilize the supply and distribution of IV solutions, IV sets and syringes, with a gift of delicious pizza," adding that it was "the first presidential pizza gift in the agency's history."

Oh said staff who had worked through weekends at manufacturing and distribution sites alongside related ministries as one team "broke into bright smiles of surprise, gratitude and deep appreciation." She added that "encouraged by the president's warm words delivered alongside the pizza, we will redouble our efforts to ensure the safety of food and drug products for the public without any gaps."

Since the Middle East war began, a crisis in the supply chain for naphtha — a key raw material for plastics — has fueled uncertainty in the supply of medical products, prompting the government to move to stabilize the supply of syringes, IV sets and related items.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety took steps in March to prioritize the supply of raw materials for IV solution packaging, and in April for syringes, needles, medicine pouches and dispensing bottles. The agencies also introduced measures against hoarding of syringes and needles, and improved the exchange rate rating criteria for medical consumables.

Government intervention helped stabilize the supply of medical products, with inventory levels also showing improvement.

Against that backdrop, the Ministry of Health and Welfare convened the 10th Health and Pharmaceutical Organizations Meeting on Middle East War Response on Thursday, bringing together 12 health and pharmaceutical associations, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to check whether the supply of medical products such as syringes was running smoothly at hospitals and clinics.

A fourth inventory survey of medical products conducted last month by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service found that stock levels were by product category at 100 to 126 percent of the previous year's levels, indicating stability. That was an improvement from the 98 to 115 percent range recorded in the previous survey.

ygmoon@heraldcorp.com