2023-09-25 18:58:55
Minister of Health Firas Abyad confirmed that primary care centers are one of the most important medicine projects that the Ministry is working on, and in these centers medicines are provided free of charge to citizens, noting that the Ministry of Health launched 3 weeks ago a tender for various medicines for care centres, while previously the focus was on medicines. Cancer, and he pointed out that a tender exceeding two million dollars had also been launched to add a new quantity of medicines to primary care centers, so that citizens would not be forced to resort to suspicious markets, noting that part of his activity abroad is to obtain support for these centers.
Al-Abyad confirmed in a telephone interview that “the MediTrack system will not stop, but on the contrary, the decision taken by the Ministry of Health is to expand this system to include all medications, not just incurable or chronic ones,” and he hopes that everyone will cooperate with the Ministry of Health in this step, which will constitute a qualitative shift in The issue of counterfeit and smuggled medicines.
Regarding the issue of support, Abyad confirmed that the government approved the equivalent of $45 million for cancer and incurable medicines, and this number is supposed to be sufficient to purchase medicines from now until the end of the year, stressing that there are medicines on their way to Lebanon, and the Ministry of Health is working with the acting governor of the Bank of Lebanon. Wassim Mansouri and the Ministry of Finance are working on new solutions at the beginning of next year, and he addresses patients, especially cancer patients and incurable diseases, by saying: We, as the Ministry of Health, stand by your side and do our best to ensure the continued provision of medicine.
He denied the accusations that Hezbollah controlled the Ministry of Health, saying, “Suppose Hezbollah controls, how?” And with what? He firmly said: “From my position and responsibility, I confirm that this is not true, at least while I am in the ministry.” He said: “I challenge any medicine to have entered Lebanon through the ministry because of a political cover,” noting that “counterfeit medicines are smuggled into the Lebanese market at lower prices, making the Lebanese tempted by them, and many of them are just water and salt.”
Regarding his meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Abyad stressed the great efforts being made by the Ministry of Health to develop a new strategy to resolve some outstanding issues such as the issue of primary health care, hospitals, medicine and the cancer plan, and it was important to bring external support not only for the health system, but also for the displaced. Because they are a shared responsibility between countries and not just the responsibility of Lebanon. He pointed out that cancer and its medicines are among the most prominent topics raised in his meetings in New York, and he received a positive response and there will be support for the health system. He pointed out that “we were promised many projects in the health sector, including a large project that we are working on with the World Bank, which is moving forward quickly, and there is support for the central laboratory project, and aid for medicines for cancer and incurable diseases.”
As for the 25 Iranian medicines that were registered in the Ministry of Health, Abiad confirmed that “these medicines were registered during the era of former Minister Jamil Jabak, and according to the files of the Ministry of Health, factories for these medicines were visited in Iran, and they are factories that have the approval of the World Health Organization.” Denying that “there was a registration of new Iranian medicines during his reign or during the reign of Minister Hamad Hassan.”
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