The shortage of medications for patients in Dagestan has led to a criminal case.

The former head of the Ministry of Health of Dagestan has become a suspect in exceeding his authority. As investigators believe, as a result of his actions, patients with chronic diseases were left without necessary medications.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in June 2023, patients with chronic kidney failure complained that they were not receiving the necessary medications and medical assistance in full, and appeals to the Ministry of Health of Dagestan yielded no results. Patients' rights have been violated, human rights activists acknowledged.

A resident of Dagestan had to go to court to obtain medications for her daughter

Today, the Investigative Committee reported on the criminal case against the former head of the pharmacy and state procurement department of the Ministry of Health of Dagestan.

"He is suspected of committing a crime under paragraphs 'b', 'd' part 3 of article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (exceeding official authority)," the agency's Telegram channel stated.

According to investigators, in March 2026, the official concluded a contract with a commercial organization for the purchase of therapeutic nutrition for more than 143 million rubles without sufficient grounds.

"As a result, budget funds were directed to the purchase of therapeutic nutrition, the need for which was not properly confirmed, while local residents with chronic diseases were left without necessary medications, which required additional budget funding for their acquisition," the publication notes.

Moreover, the official, as the investigation believes, "unjustifiably canceled previously submitted requests for the purchase of vital medications." "This also hindered the timely provision of these to citizens," the Investigative Committee reported, noting that the case was initiated based on materials from the republican FSB.

The problem of access to subsidized medications is relevant in Dagestan

In Dagestan, the situation with access to subsidized medications has improved compared to previous years, but "Patient and Housing Monitoring" receives dozens of appeals a year, said Ziyavudin Uvaisov, the head of this organization, in March 2026 to "Caucasian Knot."

"The situation is improving, but it still cannot be called normal. Every year we receive dozens of appeals from people who are not issued medications in Dagestan. There can be various reasons - lack of funding, procurement issues, logistics problems," he said.

Such cases are not isolated, confirmed at that time the editor-in-chief of RIA "Derbent" Milrad Fatullaev. "The shortage in subsidized pharmacies, according to patients, in two cases - either the medications were not delivered, patients are advised to wait, or the medications were delivered, but there are not enough for everyone," he told "Caucasian Knot."