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Program Background

Program Background

      While generic medicines have made the cost of treatment more affordable for patients, their reach is somewhat limited to certain areas, mostly urban settings in the Philippines.

     The BnB refers to a drug outlet managed by a legitimate community organization (CO)/non-government organization (NGO) and/or the Local Government Unit (LGU), with a trained operator and a supervising pharmacist specifically established in accordance with this Order.

Access Sites and Beneficiaries

     Access sites are established in every city and/or municipality in all 18 regions of the Philippines. Established BnB outlets reached more than eighteen thousand since 2003.

     The  location  of  the  BnB  outlet  is  identified,  evaluated and  selected by  the concerned Center for Health Development (CHD).  The establishment of a BnB outlet is approved by the PHARMA 50 Project Management Unit (PMU) and given a special license to operate (SLTO) by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to sell, distribute.  BnBs offer for sale and/or make available low-priced generic home remedies, over-the-counter (OTC) Drugs and two (2) selected, publicly-known prescription antibiotics drugs (i.e. Amoxicillin and Cotrimoxazole).

     The  initial  target  was  to  establish  1  BnB  to  serve  3  adjacent  Barangays. However, due to the number of Barangays all over the country, and the need for more than 1 BnB in some poor adjacent barangays to better provide for the service, the targets were changed to 1:1.  Since the absorptive capacity for the DOH-CHDs  to  establish  BnBs  is  also  limited  due  to  resource  and  time constraints, the initial phasing of the target to achieve 1:1 is being done.  Thus, for the next two (2) years, the target would be initially 1:2 except for select areas that have high poverty incidence, conflict or geographically isolated areas, and the like where the target would be 1:1.

Program Objectives and Goal

Program Objectives

Promote equity in health by:

  1. Ensuring the availability and accessibility of affordable, safe and effective, quality essential drugs to all.
  2. Prioritizing the marginalized, underserved population groups, and the critical and far-flung areas.

Goal

     To  ensure  the  accessibility  of  low- priced  generic  over-the-counter drugs and eight (8) prescription drugs as recommended by the National Drug Formulary Committee.

What are the Variants of Botika ng Barangay?

Botika Para sa Taumbayan (BPT) - A partnership with the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Establishing 300 BPT in government agencies nationwide.

Botika ng Manggagawa (BM) - A partnership with the Philippine Government Employees Association (PGEA). Establishing 100 BM in NCR.

Health Plus Outlet (HPO) - A partnership with the National Pharmaceutical Foundation (NPF). There are around 308 HPOs nationwide.

Botika Binhi (BB) - A partnership with the Kabalikat ng Botika Binhi, Inc. (KBBI). There are around 26 active BBs nationwide from the 163 established.

List of Medicines Available in BnB Outlets

  1. Aluminum hydroxide 225 mg + Magnesium hydroxide 200mg/5mL suspension (60 mL)
  2. Amoxicillin 250 mg/5 mL powder/granules for suspension (as trihydrate) (60 mL bottle)
  3. Amoxicillin 500 mg capsule (as trihydrate) (blister pack)
  4. Ascorbic acid 500 mg tablet (blister pack)
  5. Cotrimoxazole (800 mg Sulfamethoxazole + 160 mg Trimethoprim) tablet/capsule (blister pack)
  6. Ferrous sulfate tablet (equivalent to 60 mg elemental Iron) (blister pack)
  7. Loperamide 2 mg capsule (as hydrochloride) (foil/blister pack)
  8. Mefenamic acid 250 mg capsule/tablet (foil/blister pack)
  9. Multivitamins (for adults) capsule (foil/blister pack)
  10. Multivitamins per 5 mL syrup (for children) (60 mL bottle)
  11. Paracetamol 250 mg/5 mL syrup/suspension (60 mL bottle)
  12. Paracetamol 500 mg tablet (blister pack)
  13. Povidone Iodine 10% Topical Solution (15 mL bottle)
  14. Metformin 500 mg tablet (as hydrochloride) (foil pack)
  15. Glibenclamide 5 mg tablet (blister pack)
  16. Metoprolol 50 mg tablet (as tartrate) (foil pack)
  17. Captopril 25 mg tablet (foil pack)
  18. Salbutamol 2 mg tablet (as sulfate) (blister pack)
  19. Salbutamol 2 mg/5 mL syrup (as sulfate) (60 mL bottle)
  20. Lagundi 300 mg tablet (strip foil)
  21. Sambong 250 mg tablet (strip foil)

Program Updates/Milestones

     Since the BnBs served its purpose, with the increased number of drug outlets carrying generics medicines at lower cost nationwide. There is no need for the national government to establish more BnBs. The DOH will continue its support to successful BnBs by coordinating with FDA and assist the existing BnBs to comply with the standards of a regular drug outlet or an OTC or no-traditional outlet.

     Currently, there about 14,813 existing BnBs nationwide with 12,896 BnB with Special License to Operate (SLTO).  The Philippine FDA will no longer be renewing this type of drug outlet licensing. The DOH issued moratorium (Department Memorandum No. 2011-002) on the establishment of Botika ng Barangay (BnB) nationwide to address the concern on sustainable operations and financing, the lack of supervising pharmacists, and irrational dispensing of medicines.

The table below shows the number of established and existing BnB outlets per region.

No. CHD No. Total # of BnBs Established from (2003-2011) Total Number of Existing BnBs (as of December 2013)

1

CHD I - Ilocos

2,086

1,769

2

CHD II - Cagayan Valley

578

474

3

CHD III - Central Luzon

1,912

1,217

4

CHD IV-A - CALABARZON

1,884

1,497

5

CHD IV-B - MIMAROPA

1,189

992

6

CHD V - Bicol

771

690

7

CHD VI – Western Visayas

1,751

1,310

8

CHD VII – Central Visayas

621

438

10

CHD VIII – Eastern Visayas

1,052

757

11

CHD IX – Zamboanga Peninsula

788

786

12

CHD X – Northern Mindanao

1,189

1,059

13

CHD XI - Davao

933

773

14

CHD XII - SOCCSKSARGEN

557

499

15

CHD - CAR

811

736

16

CHD - NCR

929

666

17

CHD - CARAGA

897

891

18

ARMM

394

359
 

T O T A L

18,342

14,913