Brazil, 24 million people to benefit from government's free medicine delivery programme

teleSUR English

*Popular pharmacies programme was created in Lula da Silva's first term in 2024 *The plan will reach all Brazilian municipalities *Actions in the popular pharmacy programme may be the last major action in the mandate of Nisia Trindade

Transcript

00:00And Lula da Silva's government expanded delivery of free medicines from the popular pharmacy,

00:06a program that benefits 24 million people in Brazil.

00:10Our correspondents tell us more.

00:1341 medicines for the control of blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, among other pathologies,

00:21will be available to all inhabitants of Brazil 100% free of charge.

00:26The initiative benefits approximately 1 million people per year who are still paying co-participation

00:31to acquire the products.

00:38For example, Losartana is a drug for which you will pay a little less than a dollar,

00:42but there are patients who take two tablets, which is double the price.

00:46That's 20 dollars in the pocket of the customer who uses it for a year.

00:51Customers buy not only Losartana, but also other medicines, so the monthly bill of a

00:55customer who buys from a popular pharmacy can be a little less than 10 dollars.

01:06The popular pharmacies program was created in Lula da Silva's first term in 2004 and

01:11foresaw the opening of state-run delivery points.

01:14But this initiative was cancelled after the coup against Dilma Rousseff, when Michel Temer

01:18restricted the program only to the delivery of medicines in private pharmacies with a

01:22reduction in free medicines.

01:24The Bolsonaro government then cut 59% of the program's budget.

01:34We had more than 24 million people benefited in 2024, and we will increase that reach even

01:39more, mainly in the most remote areas of the country where there are more difficulties

01:47of access.

01:48And I must tell you that this program was practically destroyed in the previous government.

02:00The program will reach all Brazilian municipalities with the opening of registration in more than

02:04700 cities that did not already have the popular pharmacy program.

02:08It will also include nappies for the elderly in view of studies that reveal the demographic

02:13aging of Brazil's population.

02:20That causes a huge cost of living.

02:22It increases impoverishment.

02:24People need more consultations, more examinations, remedies all their lives.

02:27So it is very important, as it is in our constitution, our unique health system, the SUS, seeks to

02:32treat the different in an unequal way to try to equalize them.

02:40So we understand that chronic diseases should have more support from the state.

02:50The actions in the popular pharmacy program may be the last major action in the mandate

02:54of Nidia Trindade, who could leave office in the next few hours as part of a ministerial

02:58reform that seeks to leave behind the post-Bolsonaro reconstruction stage, for a second half of

03:04the mandate with transcendental projects that will leave marks of the government.

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