By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

CEBU, Philippines — Following the ban on melamine-contaminated milk products from China, health officials here reassured that the Department of Health will continue implementing strict controls and inspection on imported food products while ensuring information sharing to avoid another health scare.

At the opening ceremony of the 5th Asian Conference on food and nutrition safety, Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) director Leticia Gutierrez said government will continue monitoring milk and milk products from China.

“We also make sure that imported products entering the country have a certificate of product registration,” added Gutierrez.

Chinese Center of Disease Control director Junshi Chen admitted that the Ministry of Health of China has used “a level of 15 mg/kg of melamine in infant formula for risk communication purposes.”

“The 15 mg, it’s not likely to cause adverse health effects to consumers. If it’s higher than 15, then it’s risky,” said Chen.

Dr. Robert Baker, global head of food safety at Mars Incorporated, however, stressed that any form of adulteration should not be happening.

Apart from food contamination issues, Dr. Masami Takeuchi, Food Safety officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN), noted the impact of trade, economics and policies on world food supply and food safety.

Takeuchi said the increasing volume and diversity of international food trading can affect food safety and food supply.

By Marjorie Gorospe
INQUIRER.net

PASAY CITY, Philippines – Multi-sectoral group Bravehearts and clothing company Maldita have recently announced an initiative, dubbed “Bitching Against Cervical Cancer,” an effort to promote awareness on preventing cervical cancer.

Maldita also unveiled an exclusive line of “statement shirts” that challenges women to “Out Cervical Cancer.” Part of the proceeds from the sale of this line of shirts will be given to cervical cancer victims through the Cervical Cancer Prevention Network program (CECAP), according to Eric Teng, Maldita’s marketing director.

Teng said his mother-in-law has been a carrier of the disease. It was this reason that prompted him to lead this initiative to help cancer survivors and help raise awareness about the condition.

Teng also believed that every woman should be aware about cervical cancer.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Kenneth Hartigan-Go

MUCH of the clamor now in the pharmaceutical sector, both globally and locally, calls for transparency in pricing to lower the cost of medicine. International and local organizations and alliances have been formed to clamor for it. Prices are monitored and compared within and between regions throughout the world. Various mechanisms have been placed to demand transparency in pricing worldwide. However, prices remain high and thus the clamor remains.

An important factor to consider why prices remain high is the inability of the government to systematize a transparent pricing mechanism. It is as if the imperfection of the market, its profit-maximizing nature, is irreversible and thus has to be accepted as innate. This should not be the case. There can be a better equitable way out of this. The government must put up a transparent mechanism in medicine pricing to influence the market to respond to the public’s call and moderate their profit-orientation. Though this first action will address the imperfection of the system, it is not enough. The second half of action involves addressing the market failure by developing a proper and responsive competitive pharmaceutical sector capable of undertaking science and technology activities.

The Philippine Government has tried to respond to the call for transparency. The Department of Health and PhilHealth have come up with Drug Price Reference Index (DPRI). It works basically under the principle of informing the public of the prices of medicines, as being sold in the market, thus giving them the choice. However, though the intention is good, it does not really address the problem of high medicine prices. The DPRI is not enough. It accepts that the market may impose high prices as long as there is a cheaper counterpart. And that regulation will be left with the market forces. Further, the assumption of the PhilHealth that the public is objective enough to choose a cheaper counterpart may not be completely true, as they may be shaped by the misleading advertisements. DPRI is only a short-term solution. Drug pricing in the Philippines remain non-transparent and drug prices remain high and access by the public is adversely denied.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Marjorie Gorospe
INQUIRER.net

IN an effort to promote awareness on Hemophilia, Laureen Kelly, founder of Save One Life and Project Share, went all the way to the Philippines to discuss hemophilia.

Hemophilia is an inherent and a lifelong blood disorder that prevents blood from clotting properly. A person with this kind of disorder suffers severe pain depending on the amount of clotting factor that is missing. A person with hemophilia experiences bleeding faster than normal people and they also suffer severe joint damage that may lead to disabilility and sometimes death.

In the Philippines, there are over 6,000 people with this disease but only 1,010 are registered with the National Hemophilia Center. With this, Kelley sees the need of medicine in the country, which would be very expensive. She is now working on helping out the carriers of the disease in coordination with the Hemophilia Association of the Philippines for Love and Service (HAPLOS).

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

HAVING Hepatitis B restrict health workers in job application abroad, said Dr. Eric Tayag, officer-in-charge of the National Epidemiology Center (NEC) at the Department of Health.

“Maaaring magkaroon ng discrimination kung saan ‘yung merong mga Hepatitis B infection na naging carrier ay baka hindi mabigyan ng trabaho (People who had been infected by and have been carriers of Hepatitis B may be discriminated and may not land a job ” said Tayag who stressed the need for a set of guidelines on Hepa B by health institutions to protect health workers and prevent restrictive job policies.

Currently, the Philippine College of Occupational Medicine (PCOM) proposed the guidelines, which include communicating hazards of the disease through information dissemination programs, provision of personal protective equipment, such as aprons, gowns and gloves, and free screening for Hepatitis B and vaccination.

[Read the rest of this entry »]