WHO reports drug shortages critical in Syria

News

Rebecca Aris

pharmaphorum

A new report from the World Health Organization highlights how Syria is facing a shortage of life-saving drugs, and lacks the funds to import them.

The production of medicines has been adversely affected by the effects of economic sanctions, currency fluctuations, the lack of availability of hard currency and an increase in operational costs. Production has therefore declined from prior to the crisis when 90% of medicines were locally produced.

An estimated 90% of production facilities have been destroyed or are inaccessible to workers owing to an escalation of clashes in Rural Aleppo and Rural Damascus. In addition, the main government storage warehouse for imported medicines has been destroyed.

Those suffering the most are patients with chronic conditions as cancer medications and insulin are in short supply.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that Syria does not have the money to import the 168 products that have been deemed as "urgently needed" in the next 12 months, by Syrian health professionals.

$1.4 billion in aid is needed in order to access the drugs and medical equipment.