While Lebanon suffers from a shortage of remaining subsidized medications (for serious diseases and part of chronic disease drugs), the public sector employees' strike has exacerbated the situation by halting official transactions and disrupting import processes. What is the impact on the pharmaceutical sector?
Kareem Jabara, head of the drug importers and warehouses, explains to "Al-Markaziya" that "the pharmaceutical sector involves transactions at the port and airport, in addition to transactions that occur through the Ministry of Health, as well as dealings in other departments... Today, the pace of work is slow because employees only attend once or twice a week. However, in some departments, especially those related to pharmaceuticals, public sector employees feel a great sense of responsibility, as they make an extra effort to facilitate matters for citizens whether from their workplace or even from home."
He points out that "so far, issues regarding medications are manageable despite the strike, and it cannot be said that it is the main obstacle facing the pharmaceutical sector; rather, there are other issues. In the case of subsidized medications, the main challenge lies in securing the necessary funding and paying suppliers abroad in exchange for shipments of medications. The second major challenge is the limited quantities of medications available in the local market because the funds available for support are insufficient to meet the needs of all patients and all subsidized medications. Despite the efforts of Health Minister Firas Al-Abyad in the caretaker government to optimize the use of funds, the medication shortage persists, ranging between 30% to 50% depending on the drug and treatment. Additionally, the debt owed to international companies is substantial, amounting to 400 million dollars, and there is yet to be a definitive solution on how to pay and schedule it, noting that these medications were shipped by international companies to Lebanon without payment, and sold at subsidized prices."
Therefore, Jabara highlights that "the fundamental problem resulting from the shortage of medications due to lack of funding is the emergence of smuggling, particularly from Turkey. A significant portion of smuggled medications used to treat serious diseases is counterfeit, which harms the patient doubly as they pay for the counterfeit drug in dollars."
Regarding the provision of cancer medications within two weeks, he confirms that "the Health Minister received a decision from the Cabinet to finance the import of subsidized medications for four months at a value of 25 million dollars per month. The first 25 million has been allocated, so the medications are expected to start arriving gradually after two weeks. However, there is no problem with importing non-subsidized medications, only with their price, which has become high," urging the Lebanese to "choose suitable alternative medications based on their doctor's or pharmacist's advice, as the Lebanese market is highly competitive across various sectors, including the pharmaceutical sector."
