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DOH hosts Generic Expo

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The Department of Health (DOH) in Central Luzon is the host of this year’s Generic Expo that sought to obliterate the negative perceptions on the use of generic medicines (GMs).

The expo will be held at SM Clark starting Wednesday until Thursday, September 30.

During the expo, there will be an awareness and education campaign, free lectures and discussion forum, booths that feature Good Manufacturing Practice companies and their low priced quality generic product (such as sampling) and hourly raffles, freebees and discounts.

“We love Generics: Join Our Generation” is the expo’s theme with a sub theme “Compliance is Wellness.” These themes intend to equate compliance with wellness concepts like practicing healthy lifestyles.

In a statement, the health department said negative perceptions about generic medicines (GM) are results of vast advertisements and promotions of large companies for branded and expensive medicines in the country.

One of the negative perceptions about GMs is they are ineffective because they are cheap.

But, the DOH has corrected this through a survey conducted by the Social Weather Station.

The survey said that GMs are now usually bought by about 55 percent of people from 47 percent in 2003. In other words, 5 to 6 out of 10 Filipinos are now using GMs.

In the past three years, the health department has also collaborated with different partners, pharmaceutical association/institutions and stakeholders in promoting GMs.

This effort is also part of the 8th Millennium Development Goals (Public Private Partnership) of the national government.

“Private-Public Partnership” is one of the advocacies of the Aquino administration so the health department has tapped private organizations like Cancer Warriors Foundation (CWF).

Some of the beneficiaries of GMs are young cancer patients in public hospitals.

Recently, DOH and CWF served generic anti-cancer medications to 300 children with leukemia.

The medicine cost could have only served 60 patients if expensive medicines were bought.

The DOH said such effort only showed that affordable medicines like GMs have high quality, as well. (Charlene Cayabyab)

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