Salvador, June 8, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Yesterday (7), in Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva launched the Community Pharmacy Program of Brazil. According to the Ministry of Health, the purpose of the program is to guarantee the population access to basic medications that are essential to health, at a low cost. The community pharmacies offer customers 84 remedies at prices lower than what the market charges, for the diseases that occur most frequently in Brazil, such as allergy, anemia, bronchitis, depression, diabetes, epilepsy, gastritis, and high blood pressure.

In the first phase, a total of 18 community pharmacies will be inaugurated simultaneously in Salvador, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Goiânia. The goal of the Ministry is to open 100 units throughout the country by the end of the year.

In his speech President Lula said that the objective of the Community Pharmacy Program of Brazil is "to enable remedies in to be an article not only for rich people in Brazil."

Lula pointed out that, when it comes to improving the health of the population, the policy of basic sanitation is one of the priorities. "Investing in basic sanitation, water treatment, and sewer systems means investing in health," he declared.

Reporter: Juliana Andrade
Translator: David Silberstein