With a financially strapped public health sector that is not able to provide subsidized drugs to those who need them, Peruvians are increasingly turning to private pharmacies to fill the gap. But a recent survey of 9,000 such pharmacies in Lima showed that half only stock non-generic drugs, whose price on average is 160% higher, thus driving up private spending on such medications. A 2009 law mandates the state to support the availability of non-brand medications to stimulate competition and enable consumers to have a choice, but it has not been widely implemented. Although there are no studies on the situation outside the capital, it is believed that low-income customers in the provinces are at an even greater disadvantage. Rael Mora reports from Lima, teleSUR