MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pharmaceutical industry crisis deepens Bolivia's plight with measles

Outdated reference prices is also affecting Bolivia's pharmaceutical industry

Bolivia, currently grappling with a measles outbreak, has reported a pharmaceutical industry crisis exacerbated by a dollar shortage. Additionally, the country is also dealing with low influenza vaccination rates among vulnerable groups.

A new measles case has been confirmed in a Mennonite colony in Charagua, Santa Cruz, bringing the departmental total to 129 confirmed cases. Health authorities noted that 83% of these cases were unvaccinated, and 21 children developed pneumonia. The Mennonite community, initially reluctant, has now agreed to door-to-door vaccination.

The landlocked country received 300,000 doses of measles vaccine from India, bringing the total donations to one million doses (including 600,000 from Brazil and 100,000 from Venezuela), which will allow for expanded vaccination efforts, especially among children aged 10-14 and the school population. Bolivia expects more doses from Chile and other international organizations.

Bolivia's pharmaceutical industry crisis, due to a persistent dollar shortage, is causing a 150% increase in production costs for imported raw materials, leading to higher drug prices and a critical 50% reduction in supplies to public hospitals and health insurance funds. The industry's ability to participate in public bidding is hindered by outdated reference prices (from 2021-2022). The Bolivian Pharmaceutical Industry Chamber (Cifabol) has sought government assistance, including access to approved dollar credits and updated reference prices, but claims a lack of new meetings.

Meanwhile, Bolivian health authorities are concerned about low influenza vaccination rates, especially among chronically ill patients, where coverage is only 11%. Since the campaign began on May 2, over 1.2 million doses have been administered nationwide. While children aged 3-12 and healthcare personnel have high vaccination rates (121.5% and 78% of their goals, respectively), coverage remains low for pregnant women (15.7%) and young children (e.g., 24.2% for the first dose in children aged 6-23 months). The government urges all unvaccinated individuals, especially vulnerable populations, to get immunized for free at any of the 3,600 health centers nationwide.