One year after the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 (Republic Act 9502) was signed into law by Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, medicines are still neither affordable nor accessible.
According to Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD), this is not surprising since the law is inherently flawed, especially when the more salient provisions like regulation were removed before it was passed.
“The landscape of the pharmaceutical industry has not changed because the law is anchored on deregulation than on regulation, and because the law favors the business sector rather the consumers,” said Dr. Gene Alzona Nisperos, HEAD vice-chairperson.
According to HEAD, the law perpetuated, instead of dismantled, the status quo. As such, the monopolies enjoyed by transnational corporations as well as the practice of monopoly pricing persist.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Health Issues and Situation in the Philippines
Eighty percent of the Philippine population, or about 69 million Filipinos, struggle to survive on P96.00 or less (about US$2). The US$2 benchmark is based on World Bank’s defi nition of poverty threshold. The threshold for the Millennium Development Goal is lower at less than US$1. Of the fi gure, 46 million Filipinos go
hungry everyday.
Based on the projection of the National Wages and Productivity Commission, a family of six living in the National Capital Region needs a living wage of P911.00, but the daily minimum wage is only P382.00. The low wage is a part of the conditions of the International Monetary Fund to ensure that the Philippines would be able to pay its debts.
The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider, with the net worth of the ten richest Filipinos (US$12.4 billion in 2006) equivalent to the combined annual income of poorest 9.6 million families.
hungry everyday.
Based on the projection of the National Wages and Productivity Commission, a family of six living in the National Capital Region needs a living wage of P911.00, but the daily minimum wage is only P382.00. The low wage is a part of the conditions of the International Monetary Fund to ensure that the Philippines would be able to pay its debts.
The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider, with the net worth of the ten richest Filipinos (US$12.4 billion in 2006) equivalent to the combined annual income of poorest 9.6 million families.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Crash and Burn
Humanitarian aid workers and staff of non-government organizations (NGO) are often praised for their selfless devotion in making the world a better place to live in. But put the accolades aside, and the question begging to be asked will surface: who takes care of this sector’s mental health needs?
NGO staff and aid workers are often at the forefront of humanitarian work. It is inevitable that in the course of their work, they are exposed to a dreadful environment where death and suffering are common occurrences. In some instances, they themselves are threatened with bodily harm. In his paper, “Mental Health and Aid Workers: The Case for Collaborative Questioning,” Thomas Ditzler of the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, asserts that “the nature of humanitarian assistance puts workers in contact with the local environment in ways that can erode the normal personal / professional boundaries which provide some measure of psychological protection.”
A 2001 study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress showed that 30 percent of returning aid workers reported being stressed, while ten percent could be suffering from PTSD.
NGO staff and aid workers are often at the forefront of humanitarian work. It is inevitable that in the course of their work, they are exposed to a dreadful environment where death and suffering are common occurrences. In some instances, they themselves are threatened with bodily harm. In his paper, “Mental Health and Aid Workers: The Case for Collaborative Questioning,” Thomas Ditzler of the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, asserts that “the nature of humanitarian assistance puts workers in contact with the local environment in ways that can erode the normal personal / professional boundaries which provide some measure of psychological protection.”
A 2001 study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress showed that 30 percent of returning aid workers reported being stressed, while ten percent could be suffering from PTSD.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Community-based Mental Health Programs: Back to Basics
In the report ”Integrating mental health into primary care : a global perspective,” the World Health Organization and the World Organization of Family Doctors bat for the integration of mental health care program with primary health care since it results in greater access to much needed services.
The report resonates with truth, considering that confinement in mental asylums or rehabilitation centers is a common treatment modality for mental disorders. For poor countries dealing with fund scarcity and the lack of specialists, a psychiatric hospital-based approach alone may not work. However, there are cost-effective models of community- and home-based programs that work well.
Community-based mental health program
A community-based mental health program is not meant to replace the treatment and services offered in hospitals; it rather complements these services by making these more accessible to the people.
Such a program is also more culturally appropriate and capitalizes on the tightly-woven social fabrics of most Asia-Pacifi c countries. The involvement of the
community and family members in caring for a patient helps ease stigma and provide a more healing and nurturing environment for a patient.
The report resonates with truth, considering that confinement in mental asylums or rehabilitation centers is a common treatment modality for mental disorders. For poor countries dealing with fund scarcity and the lack of specialists, a psychiatric hospital-based approach alone may not work. However, there are cost-effective models of community- and home-based programs that work well.
Community-based mental health program
A community-based mental health program is not meant to replace the treatment and services offered in hospitals; it rather complements these services by making these more accessible to the people.
Such a program is also more culturally appropriate and capitalizes on the tightly-woven social fabrics of most Asia-Pacifi c countries. The involvement of the
community and family members in caring for a patient helps ease stigma and provide a more healing and nurturing environment for a patient.
The Hidden Battlefield
The destruction brought about by war and armed confl icts transcends the structure of cities and communities and encompasses the mortality and overall well-being of those who engage in it and those who are dragged into it. The victims, the perpetrators, and defenders may not share the same goals in war but they all share the trauma and suffering surfacing from such violent events.
The effects of war, according to a study by R. Srinivasa Murthy and Rashmi Lakshminarayana of the Regional Offi ce for the Eastern Mediterranean of the World
Health Organization (WHO), are varied and some are not even included in most available literature.
The known effects, the study said, included endemic poverty, malnutrition, disability, economic/social decline and psychosocial illness, among others. The
authors said that only when confl icts and mental health problems are fully understood can effective strategies be developed to deal with the effects of war.
"The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm to children and adults, as well as reduction in material and human capital. Death as a result of wars is simply the 'tip of the iceberg,'" the authors said.
The effects of war, according to a study by R. Srinivasa Murthy and Rashmi Lakshminarayana of the Regional Offi ce for the Eastern Mediterranean of the World
Health Organization (WHO), are varied and some are not even included in most available literature.
The known effects, the study said, included endemic poverty, malnutrition, disability, economic/social decline and psychosocial illness, among others. The
authors said that only when confl icts and mental health problems are fully understood can effective strategies be developed to deal with the effects of war.
"The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm to children and adults, as well as reduction in material and human capital. Death as a result of wars is simply the 'tip of the iceberg,'" the authors said.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Intended Death: A look at suicidal behavior
The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that suicide is taking the lives of more and more people worldwide. In the year 2000, the WHO revealed that approximately one million people died from suicide, representing a mortality rate of 16 per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds.
In the last 45 years, it also noted that suicide rates have increased 60 percent worldwide; suicide is now among the three leading causes of death among those aged 15-44 (both sexes). These fi gures, however, do not include suicide attempts that are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicide.
Further, suicide worldwide is estimated to represent 1.8 percent of the total global burden of disease in 1998, and 2.4 percent in countries with market and former socialist economies in 2002. Although suicide rates have been traditionally highest among the male elderly, rates among young people have been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest risk in a third of both developed and developing countries.
In the last 45 years, it also noted that suicide rates have increased 60 percent worldwide; suicide is now among the three leading causes of death among those aged 15-44 (both sexes). These fi gures, however, do not include suicide attempts that are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicide.
Further, suicide worldwide is estimated to represent 1.8 percent of the total global burden of disease in 1998, and 2.4 percent in countries with market and former socialist economies in 2002. Although suicide rates have been traditionally highest among the male elderly, rates among young people have been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest risk in a third of both developed and developing countries.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Untangling the Mental Haywire
Globally, an estimated 450 million are suffering from mental and neurological disorders such as epilepsy, dementias (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, vascular
dementia), and bipolar affective disorder. According to the 2001 World Health Report entitled “Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope,” depression ranked fourth in the global disease burden; it is projected to jump to second place by 2020.
In the Asia-Pacific region, an estimated 13.7 million have dementia; as the region’s population ages, the number of those with dementia is expected to hit 64.6
million by 2050.
Substance addiction, whether alcohol, drugs, or tobacco, is also considered a mental health issue. Asia accounts for close to 55 percent of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) abuse worldwide, and majority of ATS addicts are youth. Alcohol abuse, on the other hand, account for 5.5. percent of the Asia-Pacifi c region’s burden of disease. In some Pacifi c countries, the percentage of alcohol-related abuse and violence is staggering: in Papua New Guinea, close to 90 percent of emergency room trauma are due to alcohol; while in Guam, 62 percent of murders are also alcohol-related.
dementia), and bipolar affective disorder. According to the 2001 World Health Report entitled “Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope,” depression ranked fourth in the global disease burden; it is projected to jump to second place by 2020.
In the Asia-Pacific region, an estimated 13.7 million have dementia; as the region’s population ages, the number of those with dementia is expected to hit 64.6
million by 2050.
Substance addiction, whether alcohol, drugs, or tobacco, is also considered a mental health issue. Asia accounts for close to 55 percent of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) abuse worldwide, and majority of ATS addicts are youth. Alcohol abuse, on the other hand, account for 5.5. percent of the Asia-Pacifi c region’s burden of disease. In some Pacifi c countries, the percentage of alcohol-related abuse and violence is staggering: in Papua New Guinea, close to 90 percent of emergency room trauma are due to alcohol; while in Guam, 62 percent of murders are also alcohol-related.