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City monitors prices of essential goods
The progress of the price stabilisation programmes for drugs and baby formula milk topped the agenda at a working session of the HCM City People's Committee on Tuesday.
Deputy Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Hong said pharmaceutical firms had to expand their drug delivery system to remote areas.
The Department of Health should popularise the model followed by People's Hospital 115 of only prescribing medicines from the price-stabilisation programme.
The department has signed agreements to bring 45 medicines under the programme and 325 pharmacies, including 99 belonging to hospitals and 115 private ones.
The programme began in April and in May four drug firms that have signed up saw turnover rise.
Many pharmacies that were reluctant to join now wanted to do so, a department official said.
The department plans to intensify the distribution and sales of medicine in the list, and lobby doctors to prescribe only drugs participating in the programme.
The Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) and Nutifood, two leading manufacturers of dairy products and baby formula who have signed up, sell products at prices lower than market prices at 244 outlets in the city.
In May Vinamilk sold 18.39 tonnes of dairy products for VND6.11 billion (US$296,500).
Nutifood does not have figures yet.
In addition to its 179 existing outlets, Nutifood is working on a plan to open 100 more at supermarkets and 20 at hospitals.
Hong said both companies needed to be more active in expanding their network, especially in remote areas, and strive to increase turnover from price-stabilised products by 10-12 per cent.
The department should co-ordinate with companies to indicate the nutritional values of products to enable consumers to choose, she said.
It would help the consumers feel secure about using the products, she added.
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