Health an election issue

The three paragraphs below were inadvertently omitted in the BizLinks column last Monday, Feb. 19, 2007 entitled, "The Business of Saving Planet Earth."

Big business joins in

Even private financial institutions are beginning to see the big picture. The American International Group or AIG which provides insurance and financial services has opened a $300-million lending facility to support clean energy projects around the world, for as long as these loans are backed by government guarantees.

AIG said the lending facility can be availed of to support energy efficiency and performance upgrades to refineries, petrochemical plants, pipelines, and power generation plants, as well as renewable and alternative energy projects. It added that it intended to support the markets for tradable carbon credits.

Well, there may be hope for Planet Earth after all. But first let’s see how and what the local oil refineries, specifically Shell and Petron, and the large power generation plants, will do in reaction to this challenge to do their bit to save Planet Earth.

Now, let’s move on to our topic for the day.

Health concerns need a champion

The biggest seasonal spectator event is upon us anew. Yes, it’s election season once more, and your supposedly well-meaning public servants will dust off their list of ubiquitous promises in a frenzied bid to court your vote.

We have heard many times of their vow and determination to improve our lives by building more bridges, school buildings, basketball courts, creating more jobs and livelihood projects and even guaranteed donations for funerals, weddings and baptismal services.

But how many have of them have actually taken a serious and close look at issues regarding their constituents’ health? This is one quality of a candidate voters must scrutinize and look for if they really wish to have a public servant who knows what his constituents direly need.

As I have mentioned several times last year, easily one of the most more notable undertakings of the present government is the effort to bring cheaper but equally potent medicines to the less fortunate through the Presyong Tama Gamot Pampamilya Project and what is now known as the Botika ng Bayan project.

When hunger pangs kick in, food, especially in the countryside, is relatively easy to come by. Those who cannot find employment take comfort in selling candies and foodstuff in the streets and transportation terminals. When you need extra clothing, you can ask old clothes from friends and neighbors or troop to the nearest ukay-ukay.

But what do you do when you need the anti-hypertensive drug Adalat Retard, a dialysis treatment for kidney failure, or a working, well equipped operating room for emergency surgery? These are life-saving remedies which, unlike food and sources of income, one cannot easily afford or avail of.

How many candidates or re-election candidates provided ample time, effort and budget for the maintenance, development and establishment of equipped and stocked hospitals, health centers and Botika ng Bayan outlets selling cheap life saving medicines? How many of them initiated health-related programs like seminars on first aid, herbal medicines and the like?

More Botika ng Bayan outlets, please

Some giant multinational pharmaceutical firms last year sued the Philippine International Trade Corp. (PITC) in an effort to discourage the importation of off-patent versions of their more popular and expensive medicines.

Undaunted by the bullying and scare tactics of pharmaceutical giants, the PITC sustained its drive to source cheaper but equally potent medicines from India to be sold in thousands of Botika ng Bayan outlets nationwide.

Because the patents on many brands have lapsed, the drug firms – which had earned billions of dollars prior to the expiry of the patent – are now feeling the pinch from the cheaper medicines manufactured and sold by independent manufacturers producing drugs sans royalties. To counter the spread of such lower priced drugs, the affected giant pharmaceutical firms have been harassing third world countries through lawsuits.

The price disparities between the retail prices offered by multinational pharmaceuticals and those of the Botica ng Bayan have been quite shocking. The Philippines now has the second most expensive drugs in Asia, next only to Japan. The Japanese can afford high prices. But can we?

The anti-bacterial drug Augmentin 625mg, prior to the Botika ng Bayan project, was available for a whopping P86 a piece. Now, it can be bought for P63.50 in a Botika ng Bayan. In a country where more than half of the population lives in poverty, a P22.50 discount could spell the difference between life and death.

Other shocking examples when comparing multinational pharmaceuticals and Botika ng Bayan prices include anti-hypertensive Adalat Retard (P41.25 to P21 per tablet), anti-inflammatory pain killer Ponstan 500mg (P22.90 to P14.75). The price disparity in other types of medicines is just as stunning.

Many barangays, municipalities and hospitals are still without a Botika ng Bayan outlet. Isn’t this a more worthwhile project for our elected officials than sponsoring waiting sheds and basketball courts? Lawmakers could appropriate a portion of their pork barrel to help set up a Botika outlet.

The PITC offers three- or five-year financing at very friendly terms and interest rates to owners and operators of both existing and start-up drug stores or botikas nationwide who wish to be an accredited Botika ng Bayan outlet.

To qualify, applicants will need PITC endorsement and certification that they comply with the eligibility criteria. The small drug stores, not the giant store chains, are vital links of the people to life-saving medicines since such small botikas can be found not only in urbanized areas but even in the hinterlands and remotest barangays.

PITC has started something good. Let’s hope that government and more private organizations could keep the momentum going and that the profit-hungry multinational pharmaceutical companies will not stand on the way. As my favorite senator puts it, let’s do it!

Kiss of death

There is another problem in the local health care system that requires some quick creative thinking. For several years now, we have steadily been losing our midwives, nurses and doctors to hospitals abroad. Now, with qualified personnel left here dwindling in number, we’re also losing clinics and hospitals. This is effectively a kiss of death for our countrymen who need lying-in medical services.

Many of the hospitals that still remain, on the other hand, are far from being the ideal places for medical attention. For instance, Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila reportedly looks more like a slaughterhouse with its stench and army of mosquitoes at night feasting on hundreds of newborns and their mothers.

There are pressing health care issues that must truly be addressed. Perhaps, with elections just around the corner, we should get some campaign promises on health care that could sway voters to give the candidate their vote. We have to make sure, though, that these politicians follow through with real action once they’re sworn into office.

Poker tournament tips online

Those preparing for the forthcoming 3rd Philippine Poker Tour (PPT) Million-Peso Hold’em Championship may visit the PPT official web site www.PhilippinePokerTour.com for some tips on how to approach tournament play. It helps to have some theoretical background about the game before actually sitting and do battle on the green felt table.

Details of satellite/qualifying tournament schedules and venues for the 3rd PPT Million-Peso Event are also posted in the official PPT website. Interested parties may also call the PPT Secretariat (c/o Cindy) at 817-9092 or 812-0153.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 4th Floor, 156 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected] or at [email protected]. If you wish to view the previous columns, you may visit my website at http://bizlinks.linkedge.biz.