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Friday, June 23, 2006
Oledan: Prohibitions
By Radzini Oledan
Slice of Life
IT WILL always be a question of priorities with regard to quality health care that will allow majority of the populace to have access to quality health care, including provision of affordable medicines that will allow them to sustain their medications.
Nong Samuel, in his early 50's, had been found to have tuberculosis. In the first few months, he relied on the health center for the provision of medicines but on the fourth month, he was turned down due to the lack of available supplies.
What he did was to take the remaining medicines only once a day, supplementing his medication with herbs and a prayer. This is a common occurrence.
The prohibitive cost of medicines forced many patients to resort to alternative herbal medicines and rely on prayers to cure their illnesses. They may take their medication for the first two months and eventually revert to self-medication once they run out of medicines.
Government statistics would show that 70 percent of Filipinos have no regular access to lifesaving drugs, which are often sold at higher prices.
Patients are at the mercy of multinational pharmaceutical drug companies, which sets the cost of medicines in the country. Multinational drug companies hold 70 percent of an estimated $1.9 billion pharmaceutical market.
Pending in Congress is the proposal to make possible the importation of cheaper drugs and encourage the production of generic drugs. Years ago, generic drugs became an alternative to expensive medicines produced and sold by multinational companies. However, the myth that cheaper generic drugs are less effective persists has considerably affected the producers.
Apparently, the people are not left with so much choice as to succumb to the marketing strategies of big pharmaceutical companies. There was nil information and education support for generic drugs and the health care system remains heavily biased on the pharmaceutical companies.
Another aspect worth looking into is the revival of Botika sa Barangay project which will provide market for local drug producers and enable access to quality medicines. In this system, low-priced medicines are made available to the barangay folks.
Prices are five to six times cheaper than those sold in drugstores and barangay folks could be assured of basic but quality medicines, at a lower cost to be within their reach.
For instance, paracetamol at the Botika sa Barangay is sold at only P0.50 centavos compared to the P4 rate at drug stores; Mefenamic acid, available at only P1.50 compared to its P5 to P9 retail price in drug stores and antibiotics for only P2, which is P5 cheaper than those sold at any drug store.
Botika sa Barangay has always been considered as a pilot program by every national administration but after all of the publicity has died down, these barangay based drug stores are left on their own to operate with little support.
This may not be surprising considering the "ningas-kugon" attitude, which does not augur well on the project's sustainability.
There is much to be done in terms of policy support for the health care system. As of now, all indications would show that it is the poor who carries the burden of the prohibitive costs of health care and medicines.
The low allocation on health care in our national budget seems to send out the message that the poorest of the poor are free to die, or they could just pray and rely on luck to keep them out from their misery.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (June 23, 2006 issue)
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