Lebanese Official Warns of Losing Patients Due To Medicine Shortages
“Unfortunately, losing patients due to medicine shortages will become more common,” Dr. Firas Abiad, the director of the Lebanese Rafik Hariri public hospital said. The situation in Lebanon is not looking too great, as people are coming to terms with patients dying because of the lack of proper medical care. Even the most common supplies like eye drops are not available.
A scorpion stung a young Lebanese girl and her family couldn’t find the needed medical supplies to treat her. Another example of this issue is that treatments for dog bites are missing from the shelves. Public hospitals are usually expected to have an abundance of these treatments but it is highly unlikely that this will happen anytime soon.
Due to unpaid debts, 75 percent of Lebanese companies were suspended from importing. However, vital medicines are being sold on the black market at very high prices. A lot of traders are smuggling goods and medicine, storing them away to sell them on the black market, depriving the Lebanese of some of their most basic rights.
