Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - May 05, 2007
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul
As soon as he was appointed to the position last October, he revoked the 30-baht medical fee for the 47 million people who depend on the universal healthcare scheme.
Then he went on to push for a ban on liquor advertising, and for an increase in the minimum age for buying alcohol from 18 to 25 years. Both moves sparked an outcry among liquor companies since they directly affected their businesses.
The latest move to adopt compulsory licensing to override patents of Aids and heart drugs has caught both domestic and international attention. That grew further after the US Office of Trade Representative placed Thailand on the priority watch list for its handling of intellectual property rights.
Undeniably, this pressure against compulsory licensing has affected Dr Mongkol, so much so that he is beginning to lose heart after insisting for so long on a policy to expand access to affordable drugs for the majority of people in the country who are poor.
"I have to say that I am tired - exhausted, to be precise," he said.
" Sometimes I ask myself why a person at my age still has to work so hard," he added, saying that opposition to the policy had kept him up until late most nights.
"I can deal with complaints and pressure from international politics," he said. "But I find complaints from fellow Thais quite discouraging."
Based on his experience of working as a rural doctor in remote provinces in the North and Northeast for more than 10 years, Dr Mongkol said poverty was a major obstacle to most people securing medical treatment.
While working as the Food and Drug Administration secretary-general and finally the Public Health permanent secretary, he realised that policies such as these would help the country if the government was daring enough to make them happen.
That was why he decided to enforce compulsory licensing when he returned to the Public Health Ministry as the minister after retiring from active service there over five years ago.
However, pushing these policies was difficult, as long as other people were slow to recognise the need to give priority to social issues.
Take the issue of compulsory licensing, for example. Although the panel on price negotiation invited state agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce and the Council of State to help resolve the problem of pricing with drug companies, they could not reach a consensus.
Information discussed at the level of experts was unable to reach top policymakers of each agency concerned, he said.
Nevertheless, Dr Mongkol said he had learned a lesson about the need to be more thoughtful when driving policy which would affect the business sector and the economy.
The prime minister has suggested that he discuss compulsory licensing for any other drugs in the future. This was so that those who stand to be affected by the policy would not find an opening to attack the government.
Although he has won support from the prime minister and others in favour of compulsory licensing, the public health minister is still not certain that the attempt to expand access to quality drugs will be successful in the long run.
"I am just doing my best for the country while I still have time to work," he said.
"But let's face it, huge profits and benefits are involved in this issue and that may ruin my plan in the end."
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