RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Ahmad wanders from one pharmacy to the next, his prescription in hand. However, the high prices of drugs forces him to look for an off-brand alternative.
Ahmad al-Issa, 55, from the town of al-Karama, 35 km east of Raqqa, complains about the high costs of drugs, as he has to cough up a significant portion of salary for medicine each month.
The people of al-Karama complain about the high and fluctuating medicine prices in pharmacies. It is among the most pressing issues plaguing patients in the countryside.
Al-Issa, who has diabetes, needs to take one drug daily in addition to other types of medicine to treat secondary medical complications.
Now, after the massive increase in drug prices, he can only afford to buy his primary medication. What upsets him most is the difference in cost between one pharmacy and the next, as nor supervision mechanism exists.
Filing complaints with the authorities is near pointless, as they are slow to respond. The difference between the prices of some medications can be as high as 10,000 Syrian pounds (or around $1.30). The pharmacists attribute the difference in prices to the drugs being from different manufacturers, according to locals.
Therefore, al-Issa is not taking his medication regularly and cannot buy his secondary medicines for inflammation and headaches.
Issa al-Ali, 30, from al-Hamrat area, about 15 km east of Raqqa, noticed a discrepancy in the price of medicines when he tried to buy inflammation pills. The difference between pharmacies was “one sold it for 4,500 SYP ($0.60), and another for 6,000 SYP ($0.80).”
He described the manipulation of drug prices as “severe” and hoped for intensive and effective controls over the work of pharmacies.
Early this year, the Syrian Ministry of Health announced an increase in the price of local medicines, including 12,826 drugs, by up to 80 per cent.
In February 2022, the Ministry of Health raised the price of some kinds of drugs by 30-40 percent; and in December, it raised the prices of about 20 pharmaceutical products.
For the previous reasons, Khalil al-Mussa, 45, from the town of al-Jadidat, 50 km east of Raqqa, goes to public hospitals and looks for NGOs that provide drugs to patients unable to secure the costs of medication and medical tests.
Al-Mussa’s son, 17, has kidney disease and needs treatment and medications regularly. He undergoes kidney dialysis twice a week, which costs him large sums of money, so he has to depend on the support of NGOs.
Al-Mussa demanded that supervision of pharmacies be increased, saying that drugs have turned into a commodity pegged to the US dollar.
However, in the absence of effective control over pharmacies, people with low income will continue to wander from one pharmacy to another in order to find the medicine at the lowest price. In light of the dramatic rise in drug prices, patients will try to save money at the expense of their health.