Government pharmacies in Tamil Nadu cry for awareness drives to boost patronage

CHENNAI: People who regularly procure life saving drugs for patients say a lack of awareness about Makkal Marunthagam - a pharmacy run by the government - is forcing people to spend thousands on branded drugs from private pharmacies.

Tamil Nadu Pharmacists Association says that alse propaganda that medicines sold at Makkal Marunthagams (people’s pharmacy) is of cheap quality and of no efficiency are other reasons for poor patronage.

Customers say that the government should provide enough awareness of these drugs which come at a lesser price. Unless the government promotes these stores it would not serve the purpose.

Makkal Marunthagams were launched under the Central Government scheme-Jan Aushadi in 2008. It aims at providing quality generic medicines at affordable cost, to reduce healthcare expenditure for poor and disadvantaged.

"We have been helping people with medicines. We also support people who underwent bone marrow transplant. For 90 per cent of BMT patients Cyclosporine, an immunosuppressant drug, is prescribed. It costs anywhere about Rs 350 in private pharmacies, but it comes for around Rs 120 to Rs 130 in Makkal Marunthagam. Same is the case with many life saving drugs," says M Ashok Kumar, a volunteer who helps the poor and disadvantaged.

Ashok said even though his team had been dealing with procuring drugs for patients, they came to know about such a facility only a couple of months before COVID-19. Many private pharmacies have been propagating against Makkal Marunthagams, labelling it as low quality and zero efficiency drugs.

This is another reason for low patronage, said P Selvamani, State President, Tamil Nadu Marunthalunargal Munnetra Sangam. Branded paracetamol would cost Re 1, but when it is sold as a generic medicine in these Makkal Marunthagams, it would come around 10 paise or so. So, people think it is of cheap quality as it comes for a lesser price, which helps many private pharmacies to promote branded drugs, says Selvamani.