Rene Abi Nader – Mtv
With the beginning of the war, the worsening situation in the Middle East, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Lebanese feared that the pharmaceutical sector would be affected by what was happening, before things calmed down for a while. Today, with the regional scene becoming more complex again, the question has returned to the forefront: Will the medicine reach Lebanon or is a crisis looming on the horizon?
The head of the Syndicate of Pharmacists in Lebanon, Abdel-Rahman Markbawi, confirms that there is no medication crisis, noting that the risk of medication interruption currently does not exist, praising “the performance and work of Health Minister Rakan Nasser al-Din and the ministry during the war, to avoid any crisis.”
In an interview with MTV, he said: “Companies were late in delivering medicines by sea during the war, but they relied on delivering them by air via planes, which covered the gap and delay that occurred due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” pointing out that “in the first period of the war, we witnessed a contraction, but there is no problem today.”
Marqbawi is reassured that “despite the absence of a few types of medicines in Lebanon, this matter is considered normal and may happen in any country,” pointing out that “national pharmaceutical factories have covered an important part of the absence of foreign medicines, and the national alternative exists and we trust it very much.”
He says: “Do not be afraid of Lebanese medicine,” pointing out that “smuggled medicine is completely unhealthy and unsafe.”
Markbawi explains, “The medicine that enters Lebanon through the Ministry of Health conforms to the specifications and is safe. There may be a reconsideration of some of the medicines that were registered in the past period, and this is reasonable and is the ministry’s business.”
Markbawi warns against buying smuggled medicines or those sold outside pharmacies, that is, through applications and delivery, calling on citizens to consult a pharmacist and choose the licensed and safe alternatives found in pharmacies, stressing that “the smuggled medicine does not conform to specifications and is not preserved in a good way, and it is like poison to the patient and harms him.”
Medicine remains a red line that cannot be ventured, and while the medicine market in Lebanon seems stable so far, the responsibility remains shared between the concerned authorities, pharmacies, and citizens, to ensure that safe medicine reaches those who need it, away from smuggling and unknown sources.
