HIV-Positive Mexicans are Being Treated With Expired Medications

(Photo : Reuters)

Mexico's Health ministry revealed and admitted that they have been buying outdated medcations that no longer work, according to a published report from We Are Mitu. 

For a long period of time, Mexico has prevented the worst HIV/AIDS crisis that has plagued much of individuals living in the United States. Mexico has a low rate when it comes to HIV/AIDS cases and its population are eve less at risk with this epedemic.

The country also provide a healthcare system that provides free medical care to its citizen or at very low charge including those who are under medication for HIV.

With this, Mexico becomes a role model of other countries in giving accessible healthcare to its citizen. However, the country is in question right now after it was reported that the country was giving obsolete and expired medications to the HIV/AIDS patients. 

The Mexico's Health ministry revealed that Mexico had been buying outdated and medications and these no longer work to the patients anymore. Under Secretary of the Health Ministry, Hugo Lopez Gatell, revelaed on Tuesday morning that they have been buying medications for HIV/AIDS from drug providers who are selling expired medications. It was also found out that the drugs sold to the federal government and used to the patients were from 1980s which were proven ineffective. 

During the press conference before 2019 ends, the Health Minister said thta the companies are manipulating the bidding to sell outdated drugs to the public health ministry. 

Lopez-Gatell said: "The combination of medicines tells us about the enormous lack of proper HIV treatment because they [the HIV medications] are not adequate. In many cases we found the use of old medicines, we found the use of the first HIV drug that was invented or discovered at the beginning of the 80s. It is a drug that is already obsolete worldwide and in Mexico was still being used."

The Mexican government also said that it was the fault of the drug companies who are gaming and manipulating the countries public health system.

The Health Undersecretary explained that "What did we find?" That here were pressures from representatives of the pharmaceutical industry. We discovered that it was one group who made the medicines and that there were very few who distributed them. But they tie up the government with exclusive agreements to the different companies that manufacture the medicines."

This means that what rellay happened was the drug distributors pressured the doctors who gave retroviral medications. The Health Undersecretary also clarified that purchasing of drugs had always been in the national level but they do not make sense as the the amount of drugs that each state is asking.

The Undersecretary added: "In May, we completely modified the HIV treatment scheme. First, we made it clear that we wanted the best medications, the most effective, the safest; second, we identified how many people could have this ideal medication scheme and it turns out that there were many more than those who were taking advantage of it."    

Meanwhile, public health officials warned that thousands of Mexicans who rely on HIV Treatment could be affected after the government changed the way on how the medication is funded.