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Last night on the news you heard from two pharmacists coming out of the recently formed Belize Community Pharmacists Association. They say that with the new regulations implemented by the Ministry of Health at the start of this month, you won't be able to access your regular meds coming out of the US, Canada, UK and Europe.  Why?  Well, it will be too expensive - if it is available any at all.  That's because the ministry now requires what's called a GMP certificate - that’s short for good manufacturing practices.  But, the pharmacists told us that those developed countries give another kind of certificate, and it’s called GDP, short for good distribution practices - which the Ministry no longer accepts.  

They said that it will create a scarcity of proven and favored pharmaceutical products.  Here’s how Wayne Vernon from Waver Pharmacy put it:..

Wayne Vernon - Belize Community Pharmacist Association

"We have a list of maybe I would say almost 30 to 50 items we could look at that are out of the market now and daily blood pressure medications for example are off the market because of this situation. We would now have to rely on maybe a Mexican brand or a brand from Salvador which other companies bring of course but we would not have to rely on those brands that cost more with the same medication but we don't know the quality. We will waste our time now reinventing the wheel the look at each and every one of these companies here to find out who have quality products."

Today we asked the Minister of Health Pablo Marin about the changes - and he gave a stout defence of his ministry’s new regulations.  He added that the legislation is a year old, and consultations have been ongoing for three years - so this new association - just formed in May of this year - doesn't really have standing when their membership claims they were not consulted:

Hon. Pablo Marin - Minister of Health

“This association has never sent a direct letter to the ministry or to the minister to say, you know what, can we have a chat with you, or can we discuss, this, this, ehm, procedures that you’re doing. Second, to the legislations that we're doing, the SI's that we’re doing. We have direct consultations from the people from PAHO and WHO which are the highest standards in health. The only ones that doesn’t have the GMP is the USA and Canada.  The UK and them, they have the GMP. We already have products being registered from the UK already.â€￾ 

Jules Vasquez

“These pharmacists pose the example of Premarin. What would say to those who want the Premarin from the US?â€￾

Hon. Pablo Marin

“The thing that the ministry of health have to start to do also is do price control.  Because you cannot take advantage of something that is needed on the country and then you will raise up the price. So I have to put in laws also now how to regulate and do the price control for these medications because you won’t take the people from Belize for your own business affairs.  That won’t happen.â€￾

Jules Vasquez

“So what would you like to tell consumers out there who might be alarmed because these pharmacists are saying, you know that we can depend on the stuff from the US, we can, because it’s FDA approved. The US is a developed country, but the ones from Central America which we are now being - they are claiming - they are being forced to access - I can't be so sure. What would you say to consumers out there who have this concern?â€￾

Hon. Pablo Marin

“I would tell to the consumers that the medications you are taking that once you have the proper certificates that mean they are good medications that will help you, simple, Jules. When you get sick the majority of people go to Mexico. They buy the medication in Mexico, they go to Merida and they are buying the medication and taking those medications that are helping them.  How are you going to say that the medication in Mexico, that has COFEPRIS who have the standards from PAHO, who will say that they are not good? The medications that the country will have will be of best standards, of best quality. The Ministry of Health will continue with this SI because we know it’s the best thing that we’re doing for the country of Belize.â€￾

Jules Vasquez

“However do you accept that certain specific pharmaceutical products blood pressure medication, that sort of thing that that people are used to buying at a certain name from certain manufacturers, will no longer be available on the market due to these regulations.â€￾  

Hon. Pablo Marin

“No. It will be because of the company doesn't want to pay for them to have the GMP or the CPP or the certificate available in the country; they just want to make the entire amount of money without they paying a little.  Because remember when they get a certificate that will be for a three or four year period until that certificate is expired.â€￾

The Pharmacists did say that the required certification for US products can be acquired but it costs 175 US dollars per product - which importers might not be willing to pay.