Iranian medicines capture 30% of the drug market in Yemen
English - Saturday 26 February 2022 الساعة 09:20 am
Aden, NewsYemen, special:
Pharmacists said that Iranian medicines account for 30 percent of the drug market in Yemen, and are concentrated in areas controlled by the Houthi militia, which have a high population density, stressing that Iranian medicines were not present in the Yemeni market before.
Citizens suffering from chronic diseases complained of the absence of certain types of heart diseases, and they had no choice but to Iranian medicines.
Pharmacists explained that more than 260 trade names belonging to chronic diseases have been absent from the drug market, and are no longer entering the Yemeni market due to the policy of the Houthi militia, which replaced them with Iranian medicines.
The Houthi militia relies on the drug market as one of the most important financial resources after the fuel market and the communications sector, to enrich its elements and finance the war against Yemenis.
The Houthi militia tightened its grip on the Supreme Authority for Medicines, appointing Muhammad Al-Madani as its director, which opened the door for leaders in the militia to establish private companies to import medicines, in addition to bringing medicines that do not conform to standards and specifications, in violation of regulations and laws.
The Medicines Authority is one of the financially and administratively independent institutions, entrusted with regulating the importation of medicines, monitoring the drug market, and supervising the local pharmaceutical industry, and it is concerned with approving pharmaceutical items that are manufactured locally and those that are imported.
The Houthi militia continues to clamp down on pharmacies owners, manufacturers, and drug importers, with the aim of enabling its members to acquire drug agencies, and has also granted licenses to its members to open pharmacies, in illegal ways.
According to statistics from the Syndicate of Pharmacists Owners, there are 5,000 official pharmacies out of a total of 18,000 pharmacies operating in Yemen, and the number of registered medicines in Yemen reaches 20,000 brands.
Agents of imported medicines confirm that there are many medicines that have been registered with the Supreme Authority for Medicines under the Houthis, which are of poor quality and of lower quality than similar items and are harmful to health and the local economy, in addition to the Houthis’ extortion of approved drug agents and dealers.
The prices of most medicines increased by 300 percent compared to their previous prices, driven by royalties and levies imposed by the Houthi militia, which added a new burden on patients, especially those with chronic diseases.
The Houthi militia has also forced foreign organizations operating in Yemen that are active in providing pharmaceutical aid, to purchase medicine from specific drug companies and agencies recently established to replace local drug companies.
A source in Save the Children told NewsYemen earlier that the Houthi militia forced Save the Children and other foreign organizations to buy medicine from ten pharmaceutical companies that the militia had recently established.
The source added that the Houthi militia has neutralized dozens of pharmaceutical companies that they do not follow from selling medicine to organizations, by stopping the renewal of their licenses.
He explained that when organizations request the supply of medicines, they require that pharmaceutical companies and agencies have a valid permit from the official authorities, renewed or issued in the same year in which the supply request is submitted.
The bill for importing medicines in Yemen is about 88 billion riyals annually, according to statistics from the Supreme Authority for Medicines.
Hundreds of kinds of fake and inferior medicines were introduced by the Houthi militia to the local market, taking advantage of its seizure of the functions of the Supreme Medical Council and its control of the Supreme Authority for Medicines, which regulates the market and drug brands.
