West sanctions jeopardize lives of Iranian patients
US-engineered sanctions against the Islamic Republic have caused a shortage of medicines in Iran, endangering the lives of many patients, Press TV reports.
Iranian health authorities say recent illegal unilateral sanctions, led by the US and the EU, made it impossible to obtain medications needed for some diseases, a Press TV correspondent reported on Sunday.
“We’ve been faced with several issues about the drugs and medical instruments … We have several patients who have been deprived of drugs needed for the transplant…,” Ali Jafari, a transplant surgeon, said.
Many patients, suffering from diseases such as diabetes, kidney failure, hemophilia, multiple sclerosis, thalassemia, and leukemia, are affected by the sanctions.
“I ask those who have imposed sanctions on Iran: What is the fault of those patients who are losing their lives for your political goals? Why should these people die as a result of a shortage of medicine,” a patient said.
Although the sanctions do not ban the sales of drugs to Iran directly, and are claimed to be aiming at Iran’s nuclear energy program, the imports of more than fifty kinds of medicines have fallen drastically since the sanctions were implemented.
“Almost two months ago, I had a liver transplant, and I needed four necessary medications, which were scarce … Now I have been infected with a virus,” another patient said.
After all financial routes were blocked against Iran, lack of some types of medicines and medical instruments put lives of Iranian patients in danger.
“We have many problems for patients because of the paucity of supplies of very necessary instruments and drugs … Because of this problem we have an increased level of mortality,” neurosurgeon Houshang Saberi said.
The illegal US-engineered sanctions were imposed based on the unfounded accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.
Press TV