“It does seem that there is a change of course in terms of the health strategy,” emphasizes Frida Romay Hidalgo, coordinator of the Cero Desabasto collective.
Wellness Pharmacies
One of Sheinbaum’s first actions will be the Pharmacies for Wellbeing program to strengthen the supply and distribution of medicines.
“In mid-2025, the Pharmacies for Wellbeing program will begin, which will be located next to the Wellbeing Banks, to distribute basic medications free of charge, mainly for older adults,” said the president in the Zócalo.
(Dulce Soto)
For specialists, this promise is an acknowledgment of error and a proposal. That is, it shows that the Wellbeing Megapharmacy, a huge warehouse inaugurated by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador in December 2023, with minimal results to date, is not the solution to the shortage of health supplies.
However, they highlight, the initiative is a path for improvement, since it does not leave the distribution of all medications in a single centralized warehouse.
“Without mentioning it, it seems that there is going to be a change of direction and the Megapharmacy is not going to be the solution, but rather a group of pharmacies,” explains Romay Hidalgo.
Currently there are 3,049 branches of Banco del Bienestar, many of them located in areas that are difficult to access, which would allow the same number of pharmacies to reach the populations of those communities.
Although she welcomes the proposal, the public health specialist emphasizes that this should not prevent existing hospitals and clinics from operating with a sufficient supply of medical supplies, regardless of the institution that manages them.
