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people to treat diseases other than special diseases appeared on that list.
C) Limitation for issuing visa to people with special diseases
One of the most important problems faced by Iranian people in the period
of sanctions, which plagued both patients with special diseases and people
involved in importing medicines, was severe limitations imposed for issuing
visas to Iranians who wanted to travel to Europe and the United States. In
order to buy their needed medicines, patients with special diseases had to travel
overseas, but they had to limit their destinations to Malaysia or Turkey in order
to evade visa problems. Issuing visas for traveling to Europe and the United
States could take between three weeks and four months. This is a long period
for a patient with a simple disease, let alone those with special diseases. As a
result, any patient or family of a patient that planned to travel outside Iran for
treatment sometimes had to resort to black market even to get an appointment
for visa interview at an embassy.
D) Increased price of general medicines
Contrary to the common belief, sanctions did not simply affect the price of
special medicines, but also increased the price of ordinary medicines. During
that period, since many Iranian pharmaceutical companies could not obtain one
or several raw materials they needed for production of medicines, sometimes
even the most basic medicines should have been supplied through imports.
As a result, such basic medicines as Adult Cold, Acetaminophen Suppository,
Bismuth, and Calcitriol were difficult to find and their price skyrocketed.
Of course, absence of these medicines, unlike medicines needed for special
diseases, was not a cause of death and morbidity, more people in the society
were affected by their scarcity.