SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 28 March 2024, Thursday |

Pharmacies closed their doors in the provinces

Today, pharmacies closed their doors in the governorates, except in Akkar, in response to the call of the gathering of pharmacists in Lebanon for an open strike in protest against “the aggravation of the crisis of losing medicines, especially medicines for chronic diseases, and the repeated attacks on pharmacists and the drug mafias controlling the fate of citizens, in addition to Ignoring the responsible authorities for the collapse in drug security.”

Hermel
In Hermel, pharmacies committed to the open strike “to find a solution to the loss of subsidized medicines and provide them to citizens.”

Sidon
The majority of pharmacies in Sidon and its region also closed their doors in protest against “the aggravation of the crisis of losing medicines, and after this crisis reached its climax and their delivery of medicines from companies was stopped due to the failure of the Banque du Liban to transfer the necessary funds, in addition to the recording of incidents of attacks on pharmacies owners in a number of areas because of this problem.”
And they called on those concerned to “speed up solving this crisis, to protect the citizen’s health.”

Tire
In Tire, most pharmacies closed in protest against the “severe shortage of medicines and the attacks they are facing by some citizens.”

Koura
Most of the pharmacies in Koura district also responded to the strike as an expression of rejection to the reality they have reached and a denunciation of “the drug mafia controlling the fate of the citizens.”

Tbnin
Likewise, pharmacies in Bint Jbeil district closed their doors today as an expression of “the rejection of the drug mafia’s monopoly in order to make outrageous profits in the absence of effective oversight in the current situation, knowing that the prices of some unsubsidized goods and medicines sold in pharmacies have skyrocketed in The judiciary was not spared the greed of pharmacy owners.”

Tbnin
Bint Jbeil pharmacies closed their doors today as an expression of “rejection of the drug mafia’s monopoly in order to make huge profits in the absence of effective oversight in the current situation, noting that some unsubsidized commodities and medicines are selling at a high price.

Marjeyoun
Likewise, pharmacies in Marjayoun district adhered to the general and open strike called by the gathering of pharmacy owners in Lebanon, and they indicated in a statement that their strike came “after the Banque du Liban issued its final decision regarding limiting support to cancer and intractable and chronic medicines for a limited period of time, and after almost complete importers stopped. On the delivery of medicine to pharmacies, after repeated attacks and cases of robbery of pharmaceutical institutions by some on the pretext that they did not obtain their medicines, and after the unprecedented spread of counterfeit and smuggled medicines, and after the Ministry of Health’s procrastination in finding solutions and ignoring the collapse in pharmaceutical security.

Akkar
Commitment to the general strike in Akkar governorate varied, as a large number of them preferred to open their pharmacies for a few hours, awaiting the decision of the Pharmacists Syndicate in Lebanon next Tuesday.
While a number of pharmacists confirmed that their pharmacies were closed in protest against “the dire reality that pharmacists live in due to the great decrease in medicines and the loss of the bulk of them, especially medicines for chronic diseases.”

    Source:
  • Sawt Beirut International