Imbert: Government spending close to $1b on pharmaceuticals each year

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh says government continues to do all it can to ensure the public receives essential pharmaceuticals and non-pharmaceuticals.

He said those included vaccines, HIV test kits and expenses for the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP).

Deyalsingh made the comments before the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives approved a $6,704,077,000 allocation for his ministry on October 11.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert supported Deyalsingh's comments.

"The cost of pharmaceuticals is getting up to almost $1 billion a year."

Imbert said, "We have two ways of funding that. We can put it into the appropriation bill and appropriate a certain amount and we also borrow money to finance the difference."

He added, "We made a decision this year that we would put an appropriation of $625 million. We will still have to borrow."

Imbert said, "What would have happened in 2024, is that loan financing would have dealt with quite a bit of the invoices coming from the suppliers and therefore, using general revenue was not required."

The drugs, he continued, "are still purchased and still have to be paid for."

With respect to surgeries, Deyalsingh said there was an increasing number of joint replacements taking place in the public health sector now.

He also said 1,281 cardiac procedures had been done.

Mayaro MP Rushton Paray asked Deyalsingh if there were any backlogs for those or any other surgeries.

Deyalsingh said the patients were triaged and "we attend to the most urgent, life-threatening cases."

On HIV treatment, Deyalsingh said efforts were being increased to ensure that both English-speaking citizens and non-English speaking nationals had access to the treatment.

"We have purchased 6,500 HIV self-kits which is what people can take in the privacy of their homes and do a kit. That way we help to reduce stigma."

Deyalsingh said the ministry was collaborating with the Digital Transformation Ministry on the issue of cyber security.

"We are piggybacking on their cyber security backbone."

Asked by Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein about a sum of $50 million which he claimed related to a legal settlement at a regional health authority, Deyalsingh said the matter was engaging the attention of Attorney General Reginald Armour and he could not comment on it.

The committee is scheduled to continue its deliberations on the budget from October 14 to 17.