Living and economic crises in Syrian regime-controlled areas continue to dominate current affairs, with other crises mounting up on top of shortages and price hikes on fuel, bread, and more.
According to local sources in regime-controlled areas, “the plague of queues” has begun to move from gas stations and bakeries to the doors of pharmacies and charities. Those queueing wish to obtain consultations or drugs—either free of charge or at a reduced price.
The sources indicated that this development came due to the decision of the regime and its government to lift state support for many citizens in areas under regime control. This change prompted doctors to exploit the crisis and raise the wages of consultations beyond their patients’ capacity to pay.
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Those affected by the crisis have described the pharmaceuticals sector as “a profession driven by commercial profits and dominated by greed—a worrying sign. Most dangerous of all is the changing attitude of doctors and pharmacists towards society, which they treat as a means for extracting the highest possible financial return—regardless of the moral and human consequences.”
The sources cataloged the suffering of citizens in the regime-controlled areas, from their odyssey to find medicine in multiple pharmacies. They demanded a change in the rotation system for pharmacies so that the number of pharmacies on duty is doubled or tripled. This would ensure that citizens have access to medicine stocks and can avoid their current suffering in searching for medicine.
At a time when sources alluded to the apparent scarcity of medicines in pharmacies, the regime’s representative for the Syrian Pharmacists Syndicate, Wafaa Keshi, disclosed: “2021 saw a significant rise in the number of emigrant pharmacists, especially in the second half of the year, after pharmacists were the lowest migration group among medical staff.”
Recently, a confidential economic source confirmed to SY24 that unprecedented public anger against Asma al-Assad, the wife of Syrian regime head Bashar al-Assad, had swept across regime-controlled areas. Residents accuse Asma al-Assad of being responsible for the decision to lift state subsidies for thousands of Syrians in regime-controlled areas.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
