Health and Wellness Committee

The Health and Wellness Committee established in 1962 was known previously as the “Drug Agents Association” and the “Pharmaceutical Committee” representing major importers/distributors of pharmaceuticals in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Committee’s name change in the year 2004 was meant to advance the Committee to serve the interest of the major stakeholders who provide services which maintain the health and general wellness of our citizens.

The Committee is a powerful private sector lobby within the Chamber which is empowered to act on behalf of interests within the pharmaceutical and general health care industry.

The primary focus of the Committee continues to be as a mediator between the Public and Private sectors as these relate to policy matters within the medical / pharmaceutical industry.

Over the past 44 years, the Committee’s involvement has evolved holistically to include legal / regulatory matters, national health care policy including expenditure, distribution policy and dynamics, pricing and competition, ethical consumption, concerns regarding the availability of medicines imported illegally and or distributed under inappropriate conditions and more recently, counterfeit medicines.

In 2004 and 2008, this Committee was successful in getting a four-year exemption of the CET from the Council on Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on medicaments not manufactured in CARICOM territories.  This represented a significant milestone for the Committee which had lobbied this matter for more than 10 years.

At present, the Health and Wellness Committee is involved in ongoing projects aimed at enhancing the trading environment of its members and the improvement of health care available to the nation’s citizens.  Some of these include:

•    Removal of duties for a period of 4 years on medicaments imported into …..Trinidad and Tobago which are not manufactured in CARICOM, thus …..leading to a reduced cost to consumers

•    Improvements to the public sector tendering process

•    Strengthening of the Regulatory bodies and the associated Laws and …..Regulations

•    Direct representation with the Food and Drug Advisory Committee with …..respect to the registration of all pharmaceuticals in Trinidad and Tobago

•    Enforcement of proper handling, labeling and registration of vitamins and ….herbal products with the Chemistry Food and Drugs Division of the ….Ministry of Health

•  Enforcement of ethical trading activities within the Pharmaceutical ….Industry in Trinidad and Tobago

•    Monitoring, management and control of counterfeit drugs within the …..Industry.

The Health and Wellness Committee envisions the need for a very pro-active approach within the pharmaceutical and general health care industry as our country becomes even more integrated into the global economy and the pharmaceutical distributors and importers are confronted with greater challenges of direct-to-consumer sales.