After six hours of waiting, an exhausted Sadeghi walked out of a pharmacy in the capital Tehran with insulin in hand, which is becoming increasingly scarce due to the US embargo.
`I have had diabetes for almost 10 years,` said the unemployed male worker, adding that he lives in Karaj, about an hour’s drive from Tehran.
People line up to buy medicine at 13 Aban pharmacy in Tehran on February 19.
Iranians faced medicine shortages even before the Covid-19 outbreak broke out in the central city of Qom, which has so far infected 61 people with nCoV, of whom 12 have died, and led to panic.
The shortage of medical supplies occurred after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran in 2018. Washington exempted humanitarian goods, especially medicine and supplies, from sanctions.
`I bought insulin about 3 years ago for 17,000 toman (more than one USD), and now it costs up to 50,500 toman,` Sadeghi said.
When he couldn’t find a medicine, Sadeghi had to `temporarily borrow` insulin from other patients to survive.
`Recently, they started forcing us to pay for the needles,` Sadeghi said.
Iranian Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the country `is currently capable of producing more than 97% of the necessary amount of medicine`.
`We only import 3% of the drugs we use, which are clearly new and high-tech, used in limited doses and domestic production is not feasible,` he said.
Located in central Tehran, 13 Aban pharmacy attracts many patients who patiently queue for hours to buy medicine for rare diseases.
Mohammad Aminian, 73, needs insulin for his diabetic wife.
`The government is trying to make things work, even though they have their own problems,` he said.
Meanwhile, Sadeghi blamed the Iranian government.
Besides diabetes, cancer patients and hereditary hemolytic anemia are the most affected by drug shortages.
`A patient prescribed 200 pills may only buy 100 or even 20 pills and this situation is increasingly common,` she said.
Mohammed, a veteran in his 50s, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Pharmacy owner Shahbani agreed with Mohammed’s opinion, saying the quality of drugs produced by each company is different.
Switzerland has established a new financial channel to support humanitarian trade with Iran but has made little difference.