Yesterday the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, launched the national programme Saúde Não Tem Preço ( translated as ` Health has no price ’ ) which mean pharmaceutical products to treat hypertension and diabetes are going to be distributed for free in the pharmacies that are part of the network Aqui Tem Farmácia Popular (“Popular” Pharmacies). The initiative will enter in force from the next February 14th and it was one of the promises made by the actual 
President during the presidential campaign, as part of the wide strategy focused on tackle extreme poverty in Brazil. However, since 2004, 107 drugs included hypertension and diabetes treatments are heavily subsidized by the government through this network of pharmacies, with a 90% of discount in the price, which mean in practical terms that vulnerable patients had to pay only 10% of the price of the drug. Under the new measure, only hypertension and diabetes treatments will be provided free of cost and there will be a list of drugs available on each pharmacy specifying which are the drugs that can be obtained without cost on each of them, mainly generics.
Free medicines will be available to all Brazilians who have a doctor’s prescription, but the authorities say they expect the offer to be taken up mainly by poorer people who use the public health system. Throughout Brazil, the government said there are 15,000 pharmacies that are part of this agreement which mean to sell drugs under the government subsidy scheme. The official figures released outlined that the programme benefits 1,3 million people, of whom about 660,000 suffers from high blood pressure and 300,000 are diabetics. Besides patients with those illnesses, the Pharmacia Popular scheme offers drugs for treatment such as asthma, rhinitis, Parkinson’s disease, osteoporosis and glaucoma. The government’s budget for the Health Has No Price programme is US $ 280 million annually.
Free HIV drugs first and now Diabetes and Hypertension
Since 1996, Brazil has provided free anti-retroviral drugs to patients with HIV/Aids, an approach that has been widely praised. Following the same strategy the government wants to tackle the increase on the figures of Brazilian who have metabolic problems. Currently, about 33 million of Brazilians have high blood pressure, and more than seven million have diabetes. The Health Minister has pointed out that high blood pressure and diabetes caused 34% of deaths in Brazil in 2009 and these epidemiological facts were the main reason to take the decision of liberalise the provision of treatments.
What it does suppose to mean?
This is the first major health announcement from the President Dilma Rousseff, who came in to office supported by the tremendous popularity of her predecessor Lula da Silva, providing an insight into potential principal aspects of her government’s policy measures with respect to the sector. The announcement regarding metabolic treatments such as diabetes and hypertension is part of her intention, first because it was a pledge in the presidential campaign and secondly, indirectly supporting her main commitment, which is to reduce extreme poverty in Brazil. Even though patients had to pay a small quantity in order to get access of those drugs, the abolition of the 10% co-payment in such drugs will have a positive impact in the vulnerable population. The measure has been granted as universal because every Brazilian registered in the public health system can obtain the benefit showing a prescription issued by a doctor. However, the 100% discount will only be available in certain pharmacies and for a reduced list of drugs, mainly generics produced locally, which are part of the programme called “Popular Pharmacies”. Having said that, and considering the geographic distribution of these pharmacies, is highly likely that this initiative will have a bigger impact in vulnerable population, rather than well off Brazilians. From the point of view of the industry, despite of the decrease on the sale profit, especially in the retailer sector, the increase in the volume of sales and the fact that more people will be attracted to come in stores and purchase products will mean an opportunity for the industry to recover the profits and even increase the revenues in sales.
Today it has been my debut in PharmaPhorum.org , in collaboration with my friend Valentina Jaramillo. We have written together what i trully believe is a prove that Latin America should be regarded as a key emerging market and secondly, Latam is much further than Brazil and Mexico.
