The Brazilian Government will start providing free high blood pressure and diabetes medication to those who need it, starting next month.
According to President Dilma Rousseff, this particular measure was a component of her campaign to bring about an end to extreme poverty in her country. Approximately 33 million Brazilians have high blood pressure and over seven million are living with diabetes.
In an official announcement on Thursday, Health minister Alexandre Padilha stated that the two diseases caused 34% of the 2009 deaths in Brazil. Also, it was revealed that the poorest members of Brazil’s society spend about 12% of their income on medicines.
Although the free medication is available to everyone in the country, government officials believe that those who are less capable to afford the medicine will mostly use it.
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