DOH relaunches ‘Botika ng Bayan’

The Department of Health (DOH) gives a wonderful present to indigent residents by reactivating its community-based healthcare program, Botika ng Bayan (BNB).

Inactive for seven years, BNB was officially re-launched on July 13 and will continue its mission to provide free medicine for treating common diseases in different communities, focusing on indigent and marginalized sectors of the population.

The pilot site of the BNB program has been set up in San Mariano, Isabela. More BNB outlets are yet to come, as DOH aims to cover a total of 2,600 rural health units and government centers. The government agency is working to have these BNB outlets licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to provide quality outpatient pharmacy services to thousands of communities by 2022.

Health Undersecretary Enrique Domingo said that while the BNB program served its purpose of driving the generic competition and providing access to more affordable medicines, it has also become a viable business model for generic pharmacies across the country, which brought more affordable medicines down to the smaller villages.

Some of the medicines offered by BNB include antibiotics, vitamins, anti-thrombotic, anti-inflammatory, topical ointments, antacids and other essential drugs for asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.

Pharmacists and trained pharmacy assistants will also be present to provide patient education and counseling.

Policemen, soldiers, and their families are included as beneficiaries of the program, too.

via Manila Bulletin / Betheena Kae Unite