A 2021 HELL ON EARTH WITH PHARMACIST MARWA SALEM AMBASSADOR: MOHAMMAD W. YAMOUT LPSA, LEBANON
It’s clear to anyone who’s brushed through international news recently that the economy in Lebanon has been in freefall for a while, and that the skyrocketing currency’s inflation rate makes this one of the toughest crises in history. This inflation rate has not only decreased the population’s purchasing power but also induced a forced shortage of drugs. Medications are subsidised by the (currently absent, as by the date this is written) government, however, this is not a solution. Pharmacist Marwa Salem has given us an overview of the situation in this interview Mohammad: “please tell us briefly about yourself” Marwa: “I am a pharmacist that has graduated from the Lebanese international university of Beirut (LIU). I have been working in the community pharmacy field for more than 11 years and this has been the worst year ever in my entire life, and entire career.” Mohammad: “What is the most critical problem that the pharmacy profession faces in our country?” Marwa: “ The economic collapse has led the importers of pharmaceuticals and the medication warehouses to stop distributing medication. They import these medications at an uncontrolled 1 dollar rate of 19,00020,000LL (rising constantly) and yet they have to sell it at a 1$=1500 rate, meaning that they are losing the difference in currency rate. Some medications are subsidised by the Lebanese national bank (BDL, Banque du Liban) but this subside has been lifted from most medications, rendering their rate 12,000, the importers would still be losing the difference in currency, and this has stopped them from distributing medications fairly and adequately, we receive 1-2 boxes of medication at every shipment, and these shipments arrive once or twice a month. Some medications have been cut off from the market, made inaccessible without any replacement, like colchicine and tamoxifen that have been unavailable since the beginning of the year. The crises have many reflections, and the medication shortage is by far one of the lowest points anyone could reach in a country. This is our health! We cannot compromise that. We used to receive as many medication boxes as we asked for, but now we receive the bare minimum of 12 boxes and that’s even if the company warehouses accept to send us medication”
PHARMABOOK
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