The Iranian government recently pointed out many times that the treatment of patients with rare diseases such as thalassemia and epidermolysis bullae has been severely hindered by US sanctions, and some patients even lost their lives because of this.
Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahaduri Jahrumi said on social media on the 8th that in 2018, 70 thalassemia patients died due to the impact of "brutal sanctions" in Iran, 90 died in 2019, 140 died in 2020, and 180 died last year. It is predicted that 220 more patients will die this year.
He said that U.S. sanctions were a "massacre" against patients with rare diseases in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani also condemned the US sanctions on Iran on social media on the 8th. He said that all Iranian people have been fighting the "brutal sanctions" in the United States for many years, which have affected their livelihoods, work, health and normal lives. "Even children with epidermal bullae cannot be exempted from unilateral, illegal and cruel sanctions in the United States."
In July 2015, Iran reached a comprehensive agreement on the Iran nuclear issue with the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. In May 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement, and then restarted and added a series of sanctions against Iraq. Iran has repeatedly condemned the US sanctions as " economic war ", "economic terrorism" and "medical terrorism".
Kazim Garibabadi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Human Rights Commission of Iran, said in September that the United States claimed that humanitarian supplies, including food and medicine, were not included in the list of sanctions against Iran, but in fact this is "a big lie."
He said that foreign companies are unwilling to sell raw materials to Iran to produce drugs for treating rare disease , which seriously endangers Iranian patients' right to life and health.
According to the website of the Iran Supreme Human Rights Commission, Iranian Thalassemia Association Director Yunis Arab said that patients with thalassemia in Iran are facing severe drug shortage. Affected by the US sanctions, purchasing some medical necessities and equipment for thalassemia patients is "absolutely dreaming", and the US sanctions have committed "obvious anti-humanitarian crimes" against these patients.
He said the tight supply of drugs and medical supplies was because pharmaceutical companies did not sell them to Iran due to concerns about U.S. sanctions. When Iran imports drugs, payment and transportation also encounter difficulties, resulting in increased costs of drugs and medical equipment.
Patients with epidermal bullae are also called "butterfly baby" because their skin is as fragile as butterfly wings. There are hundreds of patients in Iran. It is reported that under the deterrence of US sanctions, international pharmaceutical companies dare not sell "butterfly babies" dressings to Iran to relieve pain. More than a dozen Iranian patients died of infection due to lack of dressings, and some other patients were amputated due to delays in treatment and suffered huge physical injuries.
Iranian epidermolysis bullosa Hadi Kihoslavi cites Swedish dressing production company's response to Iranian patients, saying that due to US sanctions, the company will not be able to provide Iranian patients with epidermolysis bullosa. Kihoslavi said that special dressings are very necessary for the survival of "butterfly babies" and can relieve the pain of the wound. "This deception in the United States, which claims to exclude medical supplies from the sanctions list, actually led to the death of our fellow countrymen."
(Original title: Iranian patients with rare diseases are deeply harmed by the US sanctions)
Source: CCTV News Client
Process Editor: TF065
