ANKARA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Patients in Turkey are having difficulties in finding more than 600 types of medicines as pharmaceutical companies have run low on medicine imports and stocks because of a weakening currency.
The Turkish Pharmacists Association announced a supply problem concerning 645 different drugs, such as some painkillers, pediatric medication, influenza vaccines, and medicines used in cancer and diabetes treatment.
If no action is taken on the drug shortage, a crisis could be impending, the association warned.
The primary reason for the medicine shortage is the sharpest devaluation of the Turkish lira against the U.S. dollar and the euro since the last currency meltdown in 2018. It has lost a quarter of its value since the start of this year.
The national currency sank to a historical low of 10.6 liras per dollar on Wednesday amid domestic and international inflation concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Turkish government has set a fixed lira rate and made payments to pharmaceutical companies at this specific rate which is significantly lower than the market exchange rate.
The exchange rate set by the government in February for the euro was 4.57 liras, as opposed to the current rate of 12 liras.
This situation exposes drug companies to losses, and many of them prefer to wait for new rates which are set at the start of each year, leading to reportedly the worst medicine shortage in years.
Imports become expensive and as most drugs are made from imported ingredients, domestic production is significantly slowing down, Emre Aydin, a pharmacist from the capital Ankara, explained to Xinhua.
"There is a problem in medical supplies, and we are trying to convince and calm the irritated patients," he said in the residential neighborhood of Yildizevler.
"In some cases, we find and offer alternative medicines to doctors' prescriptions, but it's not easy for some vital and irreplaceable anti-cancer drugs," Aydin noted.
The Turkish Health Ministry has sent inspectors to pharmaceutical companies' warehouses and pharmacies in Istanbul and Ankara, and launched investigations into the types of medicines that are hard to find on the shelves, the local press reported.
In the past, Turkey's drug companies have been accused of stockpiling their products for new rates to be announced in order to keep their profits on drug sales.
Pharmacist unions are calling on the government to set exchange rates for medicines four times a year during the volatile times for the Turkish currency.
Aysel Yalazan, a Turkish citizen in her 80s, was puzzled by no access to some of the most commonly used drugs, after calling several pharmacies in her neighborhood to inquire about her usual medication for hypertension.
"I called three pharmacies but they don't have it and can't tell me when they'll have it back in stock. It's a regrettable situation for patients," Yalazan told Xinhua.
"I'll have to take half a tablet daily instead of one," she lamented. Enditem
