Pharmacies and state fail to agree on crisis medicine plan
Thursday 10th September 2026 on 09:01 in
Latvia
Pharmacies need a joint business continuity plan with state institutions to maintain medicine supplies during crises, LSM reported, citing Jānis Lībķens, a board member of the Latvian National Association of Medicine Supply.
After the August storm, power outages affected around 80 pharmacies over the weekend. Half contacted medicine supply companies to request the removal of medicines that had to be stored in refrigerators. About three-quarters of those medicines were saved, but the losses were still substantial, Lībķens said.
Medicine supply companies were able to help because they had their own business continuity plans, including generators and procedures for dealing with emergencies. However, pharmacies do not have a continuity plan coordinated with state institutions. Lībķens said such a plan was needed so pharmacies could adapt their operations to the way the state functions, but it had not been agreed since 2023.
Several issues remain unclear during a crisis. Pharmacies with generators may struggle to secure fuel over a longer period, while large generators require substantial fuel storage tanks. An attempt to approve the placement of a 10-tonne tank showed that regulations classify such a tank as a fuel station, bringing strict requirements.
Not every pharmacy can install a generator, including pharmacies located in shopping centres, Lībķens said.
Pharmacies are classified as critical infrastructure and are supposed to receive priority access to electricity and fuel. However, it is not clear how this will work in practice. The law also provides for security, but does not specify who will provide it.
Pharmacies also expect a solution allowing them to dispense prescription medicines during power outages. They can maintain internet access themselves by installing a satellite dish on the roof, Lībķens said, but need assurance that the state will provide the same support on its side.
The storm that hit Latvia on the night of August 23 was the strongest summer storm in the country since at least 1966.