Pharmacy students oppose Doria.
Mayor João Doria faces resistance from the USP Pharmacy academic community, which opposes the closure of municipal pharmacies; "The Academic Center of Pharmacy and Biochemistry at USP would like to express its repudiation, through this statement, of the project by the mayor of São Paulo, João Doria (PSDB), to close public pharmacies in order to prioritize the distribution of medicines through the private network. The mayor and the municipal health secretary, Wilson Pollara, claim that distribution at health centers 'doesn't work'," says the statement published on Facebook; "In light of this, our Academic Center expresses its repudiation of the proposal, since there are 116 AMAs and 66 UBS spread throughout the city of São Paulo serving thousands of people daily throughout the city."
SP 247 - The Academic Center of Pharmacy and Biochemistry at the University of São Paulo (USP) is mobilizing to protest against Mayor João Doria's plan to close public pharmacies. The students dispute the city hall's claim that the dispensing system at these facilities is not functioning properly.
Below is the statement of condemnation. published on Facebook:
STATEMENT OF REJECTION OF THE SÃO PAULO CITY HALL'S PROJECT TO CLOSE MUNICIPAL PHARMACIES.
The Academic Center of Pharmacy and Biochemistry at USP (University of São Paulo) would like to express its repudiation, through this statement, of the project proposed by the mayor of São Paulo, João Doria (PSDB), to close public pharmacies in order to prioritize the distribution of medicines through the private network. The mayor and the municipal health secretary, Wilson Pollara, claim that distribution at health centers "doesn't work".
In light of this, our Academic Center expresses its repudiation of the proposal, given that there are 116 AMAs (Ambulatory Medical Assistance Units) and 66 UBS (Basic Health Units) spread throughout the city of São Paulo, serving thousands of people daily across the city. By changing the plan, the city's peripheral areas will be the most impacted, since large drugstore chains are concentrated in central neighborhoods, hindering access and causing unnecessary displacement of these populations to access health facilities.
This measure also affects the work of pharmacists, since the service provided at a drugstore counter differs greatly from that provided by a professional trained in basic care at public health facilities. Therefore, the work of Pharmaceutical Care is seriously at risk, given that these approximately 180 municipal pharmacies (AMAs and UBSs) fill around 700 prescriptions per month, almost 10 million per year. How will the private sector organize itself to address this, considering it does not yet fully provide basic health technologies, and how will oversight be implemented?
It is also important to highlight the rejection of certain national policies which, combined with the aforementioned project, further jeopardize the health of marginalized populations, such as the recent budget cuts, whose effects are already being felt in working-class neighborhoods, where there is already a lack of medicines and basic health services, including pharmaceutical services and care, which are consequences of these political positions now being taken.
Without further ado, we affirm our opposition to the project presented by the São Paulo city government and reiterate our full and unrestricted defense of the SUS (Brazilian Public Health System).
Academic Center of Pharmacy and Biochemistry at USP
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