Consumers Unite for Affordable Medicines, Say Too Many Loopholes Plague Law

Both consumer groups are inactive these days.

Tan said the consumer group would have to remain independent and not tainted by affiliations with corporations or politicians.

He said it must be political in the sense that it can launch different forms of advocacy work, including mass actions.

“We must learn to move with the times, responding to the most urgent needs of the people,” Tan said. He affirmed the correctness of taking up the issue of high cost of medicines.

Tan added the consumer group must be community-based and multisectoral. “Mas malakas ang mobilization. Iyan ang lakas natin ngayon.” (We must have big mobilizations. That is our strength now.)

Tan said the consumer group must analyze the political economy. He said that many of consumers’ woes stem from neoliberal policies. He said the government does not interfere with the private sector and private businesses are left to regulate themselves.

Consumerism, Tan said, must involve wise and informed choices. He said consumers must be given the proper information on medicines and even on non-drug alternatives such as acupuncture, meditation and massage.

He also recommended the establishment of alternative economic mechanisms. He said that community-based health programs could establish direct supply lines to generic manufacturers.

A consumer group must be part of a wider movement, Tan said.

Right, not a privilege

Doctor Ramon Pedro Paterno, member of the Community Medicine Practitioners and Advocates Association (COMPASS) said the right to health should not be based on one’s capacity to pay for health services.

The group vowed to monitor the prices, efficacy and quality of essential medicines in the market, launch educational discussions on the issue of high cost of medicines and push for the implementation of the Generics Law and National Drugs Policy.

Jara said that access to essential medicines 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. (Bulatlat.com)

Share This Post