Basic HTML Version
5
“Sanctions on supply of medicines”
imposed against Iranian citizens
The long list of sanctions imposed against Iran apparently did not cover
medicines or medical equipment. However, the mechanism of those sanctions
was such that they affected all aspects of life of Iranian people. During the
period of sanctions, medicines, like all other items related to people’s lives,
were entangled in a complicated labyrinth of problems and Iranian citizens
had to pay a high cost and spend a lot of time to overcome those problems.
The final outcome of that situation was nothing but pain and suffering,
worsening of diseases, and in many cases, death of patients. As a result of
that situation, Iranian people were under sanctions, though not directly, but in
an indirect manner. Some problems with which Iranian citizens and patients
were directly grappling can be summarized as follows:
A) Increased foreign exchange rate
As sanctions against Iran were intensified in 2011, the parity rate of US
dollar against the Iranian currency, Rial, reached its highest level in whole
history of the country. In the period between 2010 and 2012, every US dollar
was traded for 36,000 Rials, up from the previous rate of 14,000 Rials.
5
It
not only greatly increased inflation rate and reduced purchasing power of
3