Responding to the national shortage of medicines to treat children with cancer, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro this week handed out checks to nine non-profit charities.
Despite the situation nationwide, Alfaro vowed that the state government will allocate the necessary resources to guarantee a supply of medicines.
“We are not going to allow any child to go without their medications,” Alfaro said.
Cancer patients have died as a result of not receiving medicine during the coronavirus pandemic, Alejandro Barbosa, director of the Nariz Roja charity, told reporters this week.
Alfaro accused the federal government of having a “lack of sensitivity” regarding an issue that can be resolved through “political will.”
Alfaro dismissed the argument that money is tight during these harsh economic times. “In Mexico, we have the resources to address this problem … this year, especially, health is an issue we cannot haggle over,” he said.
Around five million pesos has been taken from the 2020 Jalisco budget to ensure children obtain the medications they require.