PHA-Exch> Philippines: Consumers’ group on cheaper meds formed

[Claudio Schuftan]

On 2/24/09, chd mancom <chdmancom at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>   *Feb 20, 2009*
>
> *
> *
>
> *Consumers’ group on cheaper meds formed*
>
>
>
> A newly formed consumers’ group called every Filipino to unite and assert
> for the people’s right on access to safe, affordable, quality, and effective
> medicines.
>
>
>
> Consumers’ Action for Empowerment (Consumers’ Action) today stressed the
> need to continue the people’s struggle of more than twenty years for a
> democratic access to essential medicines.  In a statement, Dr. Eleanor A.
> Jara, member of Consumers’ Action Secretariat and executive director of
> Council for Health and Development said that since the 1970s, the issue of
> unaffordable medicines has burdened and claimed people’s lives *en masse*.
> NGOs and people’s organizations took an active role in educating
> communities to lobbying in Congress.  Health workers, professionals,
> community leaders, and ordinary citizens rallied and took their advocacies
> to the streets.  Dr. Jara added access to safe and affordable essential
> medicines became a rallying cry to all the ailing *Juan,* *Maria *and*Juanita
> *.
>
>
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> “Since those times, the health conditions of the Philippines have changed –
> for the worse.  Eight or nine out of ten Filipinos have not been able to
> buy medicines and the World Health Organization classified the Philippines
> as among countries where less than 30% of the population have regular access
> to essential drugs,” stated Dr. Jara.
>
>
>
> The group believes that it is high time for the creation of a consumers’
> group participated by community leaders, people’s organizations, hospital
> workers, advocates, religious institutions, teachers, women’s groups, and
> consumers in light of the passage of Universally Accessible Cheaper and
> Quality Medicines Act of 2008 or RA 9502.  Hence, the formation of
> Consumers’ Action for Empowerment.
>
>
>
> Dr. Jara pointed that Consumers’ Action can make a difference by educating,
> organizing, and mobilizing the people to act on timely consumer concerns
> such as unaffordable medicine.  Consumers’ Action shall act as a watchdog
> of consumers on accessibility of safe and essential medicines.  Other
> activities include drug price monitoring on a nationwide scale and
> networking with other concerned groups and individuals.
>
>
>
> RA 9502 was signed into a law on June 6, 2008 and promised more affordable
> medicines for the public.  But Dr. Jara is not very optimistic.  She said
> that RA 9502 is doomed to fail because of the inherent flaws in its
> provision.
>
>
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> “*First,* the law failed to dismantle foreign control over the drug
> industry which is one of the reasons why millions are unable to buy
> life-saving essential meds because of exorbitant prices.  Multinational
> companies dictate high prices through the World Trade Organization – Trade
> Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (WTO-TRIPS).  *
> Second,* there is no true local drug industry in the Philippines.  Local
> manufacturers can only produce 200 kinds of essential medicines despite the
> fact that 80% of the more than 17,000 registered drugs are already
> off-patent.  Instead of developing the local drug industry, the government
> encourages parallel importation which promotes the policy of dependence and
> which can eventually kill the local drug manufacturers.  *Third,* despite
> clamor and strong recommendation of the health sector representatives and
> people’s organizations, the law omitted the creation of a Drug Price
> Regulatory Board which could have ensured the democratic representation of
> consumers and other stakeholders.  *Fourth,* ‘strengthening’ BFAD by
> leaving it to generate its own income with the goal of cutting it off from
> the national budget is tantamount to government reneging on its obligation
> and makes BFAD more vulnerable to private interests and influences,” Dr.
> Jara added.
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> “The issue of access to essential medicine is just a mere slice of the
> cake.  Access to essential medicine is part of a people’s inherent right
> to health.  The need of Filipinos for efficacious and affordable medicines
> can only be met when a strong national health care system is in place and
> under a government whose policies are for the best interest of its people,”
> Dr. Jara concluded.
>
>
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