Lebanons patients resorting to Syrian and Iranian alternatives as prices soar

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The Ministry of Health's lifted subsidies on foreign and Lebanese medicines, which caused the prices to rise exponentially, exhausting Lebanon's patients and burdening them with heavy financial burdens, which prices did not match the purchasing power of salaries and wages compared to the rise of the price of the dollar in the black market, causing a surge in the prices of medicines as the ministry is pricing drugs weekly according to the exchange rate on the parallel market.

In regards to this tragic reality, citizens resorted to buying Syrian, Turkish, and Iranian alternatives with varying prices, as Turkish medicine prices remain high compared to what is sold in pharmacies, as the well-to-do people buy it as an alternative. In contrast, others turned towards Syrian and Iranian medicine at the lowest price, which is a better alternative for citizens with limited income.

Additionally, some prefer not to buy the medicine and stop taking it altogether because they cannot afford it, choosing to head toward a slow death.

Although the Ministry of Health called on patients to take Lebanese medicine, its price also rose, especially drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer drugs, and infant formula. This caused a price increase, prompting citizens to provide alternative brands for their children at the lowest prices.

In this context, pharmacist Dr. Nader Khattab Badreddine told the National News Agency (NNA) that there is a problem with the high cost of medicines in Lebanon, adding that "unfortunately, there are medicines that are not available; even their alternative does not exist."

Therefore, the main problem is due to the dealers who bring medicines from abroad and sell them to patients, and their numbers are publicly spreading on social media.