A medicine shortage in Turkey is spilling over into the north, leaving patients unable to find treatments for heart disease, cancer, blood pressure, and even antibiotics and painkillers. Turkish Cypriot media report that many are crossing to pharmacies in the south to source essential drugs.
What pharmacists report
Speaking to Dialog daily, pharmacist Dicle Tekiner, former head of the pharmacists’ association, said the shortage in Turkey is severe and directly affects the north. Medicines in short supply include controlled drugs, antidepressants, cardiac and blood-pressure treatments, cancer and diabetes drugs, eye drops, antibiotics and analgesics. She lamented that earlier warnings by the association were ignored.
Those crossing south to buy medication face prescription hurdles: pharmacies in the Republic require a doctor’s prescription, especially for oncology drugs and antibiotics, and do not accept prescriptions issued by Turkish Cypriot doctors.
Why the shortage is happening
Tekiner said a key driver is Turkey’s pricing exchange rate for pharmaceuticals, the government continues reimbursing industry at ₺21 per euro, prompting manufacturers to limit or halt production. As a result, at least 300 medicines are currently unavailable in Turkey, with knock-on effects in the north. The Turkish Cypriot pharmaceutical association has warned the “health ministry” of an impending crisis, she added, but no action was taken.
Call for solutions
Tekiner urged authorities to seek supplies from other markets, including the Republic of Cyprus and the EU, saying doctors, patients and pharmacists have been left without support and that the “government” bears responsibility. She warned that treatments are being interrupted and called for immediate measures to resolve the ongoing public health crisis.
Source: CNA