Time to treat

It is astonishing to note that the recent budget has allocated only Rs200 million for the National Preventive Health Programme. For a population of around 193.2 million, this allocation is not sufficient. This is worrying because non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – also known as chronic diseases – are growing at a high speed in our country. It goes without saying that underprivileged patients in our country are not receiving the medicines and care they need. Therefore, we need new ways to ensure access to treatments for NCDs.

In this regard, a famous Swiss-based pharmaceutical company has launched the Access Program, which aims at ensuring access to medicines in lower-income countries like ours. This programme focuses on the affordability and availability of 15 on- and off-patent medicines addressing the four main NCD types: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory diseases, and breast cancer. The best part is that the company offers all of this at an affordable price of $1 per treatment per month, providing top quality medicines to those who need it. Such initiatives should be lauded and the relevant authorities should take steps to ensure that people in need are aware of such programmes.

Nuzair A Virani

Karachi