Blog
700 Pharmacies Have Closed Their Doors Around Lebanon
In a tweet published on his personal account, the head of the parliamentary health committee Dr Assem Araji revealed that 700 pharmacies had closed their doors in Lebanon as of recent.
One such pharmacy is Dr. Rita El Khoury’s Panacea Pharmacy. After running the successful pharmacy for ten years, Dr. Khoury and her husband decided to leave Lebanon for Paris.
Dr. Araji also mentions a mass exodus of medical personnel, the absence of medical supplies, and patients paying astronomical fees for treatment as the new chaotic normal in Lebanese society.
Over the past two years, during the most trying of economic and health conditions, Lebanese pharmacists were left at the mercy of suppliers and cartels. Some suppliers insist that the government owes them millions of dollars in subsidies, pushing them to halt distribution. Others assert that suppliers are manipulating the market and are awaiting pricing hikes to sell for a higher profit margin. Either way, vital medications and basic necessities have flown off the shelves.
Lebanon is now 700 pharmacies lighter, and hope continues to diminish each day the corrupt ruling class is not held accountable for the financial and economic ruin they have created.
(@dr_assem_araji) May 16, 2021
One such pharmacy is Dr. Rita El Khoury’s Panacea Pharmacy. After running the successful pharmacy for ten years, Dr. Khoury and her husband decided to leave Lebanon for Paris.
RIP Panacea Pharmacy: 2011 – 2021 pic.twitter.com/3QNX2sokJk
— Dr. Rita El Khoury (@khouryrt) April 24, 2021
How it started How it’s going pic.twitter.com/loszI5hvXz
— Dr. Rita El Khoury (@khouryrt) April 15, 2021
Dr. Araji also mentions a mass exodus of medical personnel, the absence of medical supplies, and patients paying astronomical fees for treatment as the new chaotic normal in Lebanese society.
Over the past two years, during the most trying of economic and health conditions, Lebanese pharmacists were left at the mercy of suppliers and cartels. Some suppliers insist that the government owes them millions of dollars in subsidies, pushing them to halt distribution. Others assert that suppliers are manipulating the market and are awaiting pricing hikes to sell for a higher profit margin. Either way, vital medications and basic necessities have flown off the shelves.
Lebanon is now 700 pharmacies lighter, and hope continues to diminish each day the corrupt ruling class is not held accountable for the financial and economic ruin they have created.
