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Iranwire – Drug shortages continue to loom over Iran’s healthcare system, mainly due to mismanagement by the Islamic Republic’s authorities.
The director-general of the Food and Drug Administration, Mohammad Peykanpour, disclosed on January 12 that 99 drugs currently face shortages in the country.
He attributed 31 of these shortages to a lack of foreign currency for imports.
Peykanpour further revealed that the Central Bank of Iran finally allocated a mere $20 million last week for drug imports.
That seemingly small amount stands in stark contrast to the $3.5 billion allocated in the budget for imports of drugs and powdered milk.
Iran’s currency plunged to record lows against the dollar last year, in another setback for an economy whose outlook has steadily dimmed since 2018, when then President Donald Trump reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
Amid widening budget deficit and inflation topping 50 percent annually, poverty has spread, despite the country holding some of the world’s largest oil reserves.
In the face of Iran’s crumbling healthcare system, the country’s muscular dystrophy support association warned last month that “many” Iranians suffering from the disease have been forced to seek refuge abroad to receive free medical care.
