Lebanon was a reference in medical care, in hospitalization and in medicines, but it declined because of the corruption of the medical environment. This is what Dr Salim Salhab (deputy of the Parliamentary block of reform and change) said yesterday. After having indicated that Lebanon consumes every year medicines for an equivalent value between 700 and 800 000 dollars, Dr Salhab noticed that this figure can fall down to 500 000 dollars if "criteria of transparency " are applied, if "monopolies" are forbidden and if a better control is applied. He especially underlined that "pharmaceutical companies form a closed consortium and control the price of the medicine". According to Dr Salhab, this price is in fact "20 in 30 % superior to the current price in the nearby countries".

Besides, Dr Salhab underlined that the Ministry of Health was often absent and that the Lebanese citizen paid the consequences as "the importers of medicines try by all means to maintain high prices ". Urging to unify the public third-party billing, "so that they are controlled" by the same organism, Dr Salhab noted that the project of outgoing Minister of Health to lower the price of the medicine was interrupted "for political reasons". He finally indicated that the parliamentary Commission of Health "has no role, but it meets every three months (…) This commission would have to exercise its legislative mission, far from the political friction, and waiting for a government which would be reliable ", he concluded.