The Minister of Health of Colombia, Carolina Corchoassured this Friday that talking about shortages in the country “does not correspond to reality” although there is a “shortage of some medicines”, something that, according to what he said, “is not a new issue”.
(Read: What happens to the supply of medicines in the country?).
“It is an issue that has been going on for several years, even before the pandemic, with classic medicines, due to a price issue and a commercial issue (…) it is not a new issue, we have been at least since 2019“, explained in a press conference the minister.
The head of the Health portfolio added that It is not just a Colombian problem, but a global one.but that “it is very important that this has aroused the interest of public opinion, because even though it is not new, it is an issue that of course the health system has to take up.”
The shortage has to do “with a problem that when there are changes like the one that occurred in the pandemic, the market is not capable of responding.” To this is added that “The response is very slow because the issue of medicines has been done in Colombia as a market issue and for the markets to work“added Corcho, who alluded to “excessive competition” in the Latin American country.
The information from the Ministry of Health comes after complaints received from patients who have criticized the lack of medicines after being treated by the Health Promotion Entities (EPS), which has provoked guardianships on the part of the patients.
The general director of the Colombian Association of Hospitals and Clinics (ACHC), Juan Carlos Giraldo Valencia, asked the Ministry of Health to investigate the causes of the shortage of supplies and medicines.
(Keep reading: Covid vaccines: people from 18 to 49 years old can apply fourth dose).
“The scarcity of supplies worries us because they are crucial for the adequate provision of hospital services, taking into account that the reservation times reported by the institutions are short.“, assured Giraldo Valencia.
Medicines.
In this regard, it should be noted that the Ministry, together with Invima, has been working on an action plan that Involves all actors in the health sector engaged in the supply chain, to determine the best actions to take. In this sense, working groups have been held with the pharmaceutical sector and health services, to analyze each specific case and establish commitments and respond to each problem identified.
Monkeypox in Colombia
The minister also referred to the monkeypox, to give “important news” that “in the last week there has been a significant decrease in cases in Colombia and also in Latin America in incidence.”
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That assumes that “Somehow we see a favorable response to the entire educational campaign and the epidemiological surveillance inspection measuresa”, celebrated Corcho. Colombia detected until September 12, the date of the last report from the health authorities, 1,260 cases of monkeypox.
EFE
