“The West-backed terrorist groups had not only targeted doctors, pharmacists, nurses, but also attacked with rockets hospitals and pharmaceutical factories …”
Interview with the former Member of Parliament, the pharmacist Dr. Rouba Mirza
The personal health of each citizen and all medical institutes in Syria have been targeted by the West-backed terrorist groups and the western unilateral sanctions that are imposed on it.
According to the Syrian pharmacist Dr. Rouba Mirza, who has never stopped her work during the war on the country, the terrorist groups had purposely killed and displaced medical personnel in the areas that were occupied by them.
“The West-backed terrorist groups had not only targeted doctors, pharmacists, nurses, but also attacked with rockets hospitals and pharmaceutical factories, especially in Aleppo governorate, and looted medicines and hoarded them during the first years of the war on the country because they know that the war will last for a long time…. In May 2014, terrorist groups destroyed Al-Kindy Hospital in Aleppo after looting its contents worth millions of Syrian Pounds” she stressed.
A report published by local media said “There were 70 pharmaceutical factories by the start of 2011 since the private sector was first authorized to establish factories for manufacturing medicines in 1987. The industry was covering approximately 90% of local market needs. The pharmaceutical market was worth at the time an estimated $400 million; $350 million of this was made up of local production, while the remaining $40-50 million came from foreign imports – mostly cancer medication, vaccines and other kinds of medicine not manufactured locally, usually given out to patients for free in specialist state hospitals. Alongside this was the country’s rising pharmaceutical exports, which had reached the markets of 44 countries worldwide.”
However, the terror war destroyed 4 decades of development, and the pharmaceutical industry found itself in a dilemma. The industry was subject to varying degrees of damage, extending to its infrastructure, equipment and production lines. A total of 19 factories went out of service, the majority of which swiftly returned to functionality as a lot of areas were liberated from terrorists.
“This maintenance of damaged factories and equipment was hampered by the western unilateral sanctions as their designation of the Central Bank and all public financial institutions has completely blocked transactions for imports and exports, including medicine, spare parts, raw materials, and has restrained foreign currency inflows,” Dr. Mirza said.
As necessary materials for producing medicines were no longer being exported, foreign companies began withdrawing licenses they had granted to more than 53 Syrian companies. The companies which granted the licenses were partners in production, exported raw materials, and finished product control. Therefor, the withdrawal of these licenses forced Syrian companies to search for alternative sources to secure the raw materials necessary to produce medicines previously produced by a foreign license, according to an owner of a pharmaceutical factory, who preferred not to mention his name.
He indicated that sanctions hinder the process of upgrading vital manufacturing equipment in accordance with global developments and standards. So, we have no other choice but to circumvent by buying these machines and spare parts via go-betweens.
As for the measures adopted by the Syrian government to confront the sanctions and to ease their impacts on the Syrian people, Dr. Mirza affirmed that there has been a cooperation between the government, the owners of medical institutes and doctors to find emergency solutions such as prioritizing electricity supplies for hospitals, health centers and pharmaceutical factories, ensuring life-saving medicines, such as for cancer treatment, kidney dialysis, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, diabetes.
UN Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Prof. Alena Douhan expressed her concern over this matter in article published on November 26, 2022: “ With 14.6% of the Syrian population suffering from chronic and rare diseases, and estimated 24% being disabled, I note with concern the challenges and obstacles in the procurement and delivery of life-saving medicines, such as for cancer treatment, kidney dialysis, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, as well as anaesthetics, diagnosis for all types of cancer and others, due to the withdrawal from Syria of foreign pharmaceutical producers and the inability to import raw materials and laboratory reagents for local pharmaceutical production due to companies’ over-compliance and/or banks’ de-risking policies.”
Syria has been a regional treatment center.
“ We are still steadfast, and we are still offering medical treatment to Syrian people and to all people who come from regional state to our country because it is known that Syrian doctors are professional and the prices of treatment is still lower that the prices in nearby countries and in the West despite all the circumstances that the country is going through,” the pharmacist asserted.
She concluded her interview by saying:” It is a crime to prevent the delivery of medicine to people. Sanctions target the people who have paid the biggest price. They are often the sole victim.”
Notes:
“Syrian Pharmaceutical Industry… What it has and what it has to do.” (Syrian Pharmaceutical Industry… What it has and what it has to do. – Al-Baath Newspaper)
