Panama raises an initiative against excessive prices and lack of access to medicines

An accessible drug is difference between life and deathsaid this Thursday the vice president of Panama in his turn at the microphone at the United Nations General Assembly.

José Gabriel Carrizo addressed the plenary session on the third day of the high-level segment of the general debate to contrast the role that the pharmaceutical industry should play as an ally of health with a reality in which Millions of people cannot access medicinesas became apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A shame

“The situation has become a mercantile and petty act. Oligopolies obtain disproportionate profits from the medicines they distribute and sell to states and individuals”, he denounced.

Carrizo added that it is up to all countries to examine and change this model quickly.

“Such a system, which shames humanity, cannot continue,” emphasized.

In this context, he proposed the adoption of a global initiative to address price gouging and the lack of access to medicines for the entire population of the world.

The Panamanian deputy president also called for assessing the access to medicines as a human right and not as “expensive and luxury merchandise”.

When will ecocide stop?

During his participation, Carrizo highlighted that Panama is one of the three countries in the world with negative carbon emissions and that more than 80% of its electrical energy is generated with renewable sources.

After underlining the vocation of his country to protect natural resources, he regretted that emissions, deforestation and pollution continue to increase in most of the Earth.

“How many more lives must be lost? How many more natural disasters must occur? (…) When are you going to stop the ecocide?” he asked.

The Vice President reminded the large emitters of gases, those who encourage deforestation, and those who dump chemicals that pollute and kill, that it is about the survival of the planet and the species that inhabit itincluding the human.

Accountability

For prevent this destruction from continuingthe Central American nation spoke out for accountability:

“Panama states today before this forum of nations that the time has come for the world to have a international body that demands responsibility from all those who cause damage to the planet”, he pointed out.

At the end of his speech, Carrizo pointed out that humanity has ahead of it the construction of a better world “with responses to ensure human health and life on the planet”.

“We have to do it. Always we will be much stronger…united“, said the vice president.