Sick people in Chile protest for the high cost of medicines

Protesters in Santiago de Chile

In an unexpected demonstration held last Saturday in the city of Santiago, hundreds of sick Chileans with chronical or terminal diseases protested for the high cost of medicines for their health treatments.

Protesters, some in wheelchairs, walked about 5 blocks accompanied by their relatives holding banners with slogans like “I survived a stroke, and now I live to pay the debt of the clinic” or “the state is immoral to a terminally ill patient”.

The protest seeks the attention of the government to contribute with financial support to create a national fund of medicine that allows people with terminal and chronic illnesses and access to expensive drugs for their treatments.

In Chile, hospice treatment have such high costs that patients have to resort to loans or mortgages. 16% of the population has private insurance which gives access to top health services, but it comes with a high cost. Their fees increase every year due to age, risk and gender, while some 15 million people have access to public services with insufficient resources to face the excess of demand.