June 19, 2014
Reference: Eleanor Jara M.D., Co-Convenor Consumers Action for Empowerment, Landline 9298109
Consumer Groups: Six Year-Old Cheaper Medicines Act of 2008 still a Failure for the Filipino’s Access to Quality Healthcare
Research groups, legislators, patients, health professionals, and health advocates will assess and dissect the Cheaper Medicines Act of 2008 this JUNE 19, 2014 at the Teacher’s Building, Mines cor. Dipolog Streets, Barangay Vasra, Quezon City, from 2:00 to 6:00 PM. The event titled “Analyzing Universally Inaccessible Medicine and What Should Be in Place” will be convened by the Consumers Action for Empowerment. The event will be opened to the public as part of the advocacy of the group to increase civic awareness.
Six years since the enactment of the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008, the law still failed to make medicines more accessible to the public, especially the masses. In CAE’s investigation, the law has failed to: bare teeth in setting price ceilings for the essential medicines; ensure affordable supply for public hospitals and pharmacies; and expand the number of medicines encompassed by the law. The effect is that the masses still cannot afford nor avail the essential drugs that are needed by most Filipinos.
According to Dr. Eleanor Jara, “The round table discussion aims to increase the public’s understanding of the law, provide a pro-people analysis, and intensify the campaign for genuine transformation on the healthcare system.” She even added that, “…the said law has been a banner for the government to claim that reforms are being done to make medicines accessible, yet the situation says otherwise. The Philippines has one of the most expensive drugs in Asia that is why most still are unaffordable or have no generic brands available in the market. Cheaper generic drugs are usually unavailable in the public pharmacies so patients still buy the expensive kind. The government also still fails to address the failing local production, and continues to favor foreign imports, making medicines more expensive.” She ended with, “There is a need for the people’s movement to continue to be critical, and call for a sincere pro-people alternative.”
The CONSUMERS' ACTION FOR EMPOWERMENT is a loose coalition of organizations, institutions, and individuals from the basic sectors of the society as well as professional and religious organizations that promote consumers' right to accessible, safe and affordable essential medicines and asserts government’s role in ensuring this right. ##
