The Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, said this Thursday (19), in an interview with CNN , that the supply of medicines in the country is balanced, and that specific problems of delay in the delivery of these products were identified. Also according to Queiroga, some issues are not exclusive to the federal government.
“Some medicines are not the responsibility of the Ministry of Health to acquire. Even so, the government, through public policies, seeks to mitigate the problem”, he pointed out.
“That’s why we advocate the strengthening of healthcare industrial complexes worldwide. There are also exceptional medications, the so-called specialized component, of specialized health care that is the responsibility of the Ministry. To get an idea, in the basic component of pharmaceutical assistance, the Ministry of Health puts more than six reais per person, so that municipalities can purchase their medicines, while municipalities and states put less than three reais per individual. So the government does its part,” he added.
The position of the head of the folder takes place at a time when some municipalities and states report a lack of basic medicines. According to the National Council of Municipal Health Departments (Conasems), injectable dipyrone monohydrate 500mg is in short supply in all states.
In Rio de Janeiro, the Council of Municipal Health Secretaries even issued an alert about the difficulty in acquiring various items.
“The hospital network already counts, in many cities, the absence of up to 134 items such as, for example, mycophenolate, which prevents rejection in organ transplants; epoetin alfa, which fights anemia; and ribavirin, used against hepatitis C,” the agency said.
“More recently, it was the turn of private sector pharmacies to report shortages such as antibiotics, medicines used, for example, to treat pneumonia, otitis and tonsillitis”, added the alert.
Still on the subject, Marcelo Queiroga said that the relationship with the pharmaceutical industry is based on national demand to avoid excessive spending.
“Remember that the industry seeks profit, so we have to have very fine control of this relationship, because if we release everything, you already know what happens, right”, concluded the minister.
Call for clarification to the Chamber
This Wednesday (18), the Chamber of Deputies approved the summons of the Minister of Health to provide clarification on the lack of medicines in health units in the country.
THE CNN Marcelo Queiroga stated that he has a cordial relationship with the national Parliament and that he will attend to clear up possible doubts of the deputies.
“We always dialogue with all the powers, not only with the Chamber of Deputies, but with the Senate, with the judiciary, there is no problem”, he replied.
Source: CNN Brasil
