80% of ill Filipinos die without access to drugs

By Katrice R. Jalbuena, Reporter

Manila Times – February 14, 2007

Around 80 percent of ill Filipinos die without access to medication, Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) Chairman Roberto Pagdanganan said on Tuesday.

At a roundtable with editors and reporters of the The Manila Times, Pagdanganan said less than 30 percent of 80-million Filipinos have regular access to essential drugs.

He also said that 40 percent of Filipinos spend a lifetime without seeing a doctor.

Those who do find local medicine costs far beyond what they can afford.

“If there was a Guinness Book of World Records category for it, the Philippines would have the dubious distinction of being the country with the ‘most expensive medications,’” Pagdanganan said.

He said records of the last three decades showed that pharmaceutical firms catered only to the richest 10 percent of the population.

“As for the 90 percent who can’t afford [to buy medicines], bahala na sila,” he added. 

Disinformation

Pagdanganan said the average price of medicine in the country is 40 percent to 70 percent higher than in neighboring Southeast Asian countries.

Multinational firms control more than 70 percent of the local pharmaceutical market, he added.

He said poor people who could be saved by generic drugs are disadvantaged by “a campaign of disinformation.”

“People feel that ‘cheap’ generic medication is not going to do them any good so either they buy the expensive stuff or don’t bother to take medication at all,” Pagdanganan pointed out.

Pagdanganan, whose agency imports generic drugs, said it is not poor quality that makes generic medication cheap, but the add-on costs like marketing.

The PTIC chief said his agency, the Department of Health and the Bureau of Food and Drugs, are at the forefront of the government’s thrust to provide Filipinos with affordable medicine.

“In order to do that we need to be able to provide them with more products and more venues or stores, as well as an educational campaign that corrects their wrong assumption about ‘cheap’ medication,” he said. 

Access

President Arroyo’s administration launched the Botika ng Bayan program in December 2004.

Currently, the country has about 1,200 Botika ng Bayan. These are owned by individuals.

Under the program, the PITC provides 76 imported drugs covering ten therapeutic categories. The PITC also accredited 57 local suppliers and manufacturers of essential branded and generic medicines, which provide the Botika ng Bayan with medication.

In order to invest in a Botika ng Bayan, the investor must have a space of at least 50 square meters, P50,000 in initial capital and a licensed pharmacist in the staff.

“The presence of a pharmacist is an extremely important part of the Botika ng Bayan,” Pagdanganan stressed. “Not only does it assure that customers get affordable medication but that they also get the correct medication.”

Pagdanganan said the success of the Botika ng Bayan program shows that more people are willing to buy generic medicine; that they are aware the medicine does not have to be expensive and is a basic right for everyone, not just the rich.