Drug prices

Drug prices

From Bisnis Indonesia

An acquaintance of mine, living in an urban village on the
outskirts of Jakarta, consulted a traditional healer to cure his
child's swollen eye instead of going to see an eye specialist.
Many people living in poverty cannot afford to pay medical fees,
including public health clinic charges.

Meanwhile, the government has raised the price of generic
drugs. The Minister of Health said the decision had to be made in
response to the request of drug producers. However, only the
price of essential drugs has increased by 50 percent.

Of the 232 kinds of drugs, 153 belong to the essential
category, while these essential medicines are in fact what the
poor people need most.

It is apparent that the government is unwilling to sacrifice
its interests for the public at large. The government should not
wait until deaths are reported among the poor as the high drug
prices are beyond their reach. It is naive to comply with
producers' request while ignoring the majority.

TAUFIK KARMADI
Jakarta