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黎巴嫩面臨藥品短缺和經濟危機
By John Russell
14 November 2020
Heart drugs and all kinds of other medicines have disappeared from drug stores across Lebanon. The drug shortage is the latest in a series of problems in the country, which was once a center for medical services, banking and real estate.
心臟病藥物和其它各種藥物已經從黎巴嫩各地的藥店中消失。藥品短缺是該國一系列問題中最新的一種，這個國家曾經是醫療服務、銀行和房地產的中心。
Rita Harb works as a nurse at a hospital in Beirut, the capital. She cannot find heart drugs for her 85-year-old grandfather.
麗塔·哈伯在首都貝魯特的一家醫院做護士。她無法給自己85歲的祖父找到心臟病藥物。
She has searched Lebanese drug stores and called friends overseas. Not even doctors she knew could get the drugs from pharmacies or other providers.
她找遍了黎巴嫩的藥店，並打電話給海外朋友求助。甚至她認識的醫生都沒法從藥店或其它渠道獲取這種藥物。
Harb’s story is becoming increasingly common in Lebanon.
哈伯的經歷在黎巴嫩變得越來越普遍。
Officials and pharmacists say the drug shortage was made worse by panic buying and hoarding after an announcement by the country’s Central Bank governor. He said that with the supply of foreign money running low, the government would not be able to keep up subsidies, including subsidies on drugs.
有關官員和藥劑師表示，在該國央行行長宣布一個消息之後，由於恐慌性購買和囤積，使得藥品短缺情況變得更加嚴重。該行長表示，由於外國資金供應不足，政府將無法維持包括藥品在內的各種補貼。
That announcement 「caused a storm, an earthquake,」 said Ghassan al-Amin, head of the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon.
黎巴嫩藥劑師協會負責人加桑·阿明表示：「這一消息引發了一場巨大風暴、一場地震。」
Many Lebanese now search the country and beyond for necessary drugs. Older adults ask religious organizations and aid groups for help.
現在許多黎巴嫩人開始在國內外尋找必要的藥物。老年人向宗教組織和援助機構尋求幫助。
In the country’s economic crisis, more than half the population has been pushed into poverty. Lebanon’s money has lost nearly 80 percent of its value. People’s savings also have dropped in value.
在該國的經濟危機中，超過一半人口陷入了貧困。黎巴嫩的貨幣貶值了80%。人們的存款也貶值了。
Lebanon imports nearly everything, including 85 percent of its drugs.
黎巴嫩幾乎所有物品依賴進口，其中包括85%的藥品。
Lifting subsidies is a likely step for the government. This is expected to increase prices and inflation. Fixed at 1,500 to the U.S. dollar for many years, the Lebanese pound is now worth around 7,000 for $1 on the black market.
政府可能會取消補貼。預計這會提高物價和通脹。黎巴嫩貨幣兌換美元的匯率多年來一直維持在1500:1，現在黑市的匯率為7000兌1美元。
The difference between the official and black-market dollar rate has fueled smuggling. In other words, subsidized Lebanese drugs were secretly taken to neighboring countries.
官方和黑市的匯率差加劇了走私活動。換句話說，有補貼的黎巴嫩藥品被走私到鄰國。
In the chaos, six out of every 10 brand drugs have become unavailable, notes Malak Khiami, the pharmacist at Amel Association, an aid group.
援助機構阿梅爾協會的藥劑師麥萊凱·希亞米指出，在這種混亂中，60%的藥品已經變得不可得。
For years, around 20 importers have controlled Lebanon’s drug market. Lebanese law awards rights to some drug importers, giving them power to resist reforms and keep out competitors.
多年來，大約有20個進口商控制著黎巴嫩的藥品市場。黎巴嫩法律授權了某些進口商，讓他們有能力抵制改革並排斥競爭者。
The import rights are part of Lebanon’s economic order, which after the civil war’s end became controlled by militia chiefs, wealthy traders and real estate owners.
這種進口權是黎巴嫩經濟秩序的一部分，內戰結束後，黎巴嫩的經濟秩序就由民兵首領、富商以及房產老闆掌控。
As that economic order falls apart, the market for foreign drugs will likely become smaller, says Viviane Akiki, an economic reporter. 「The dollar shortage will impose new solutions.」
經濟記者維維安·阿吉吉表示，隨著經濟秩序的崩潰，外國藥品的市場可能會變小。「美元短缺將會帶來新的出路。」
In the Zoukaq al-Blat neighborhood of Beirut, Mahmoud Mahmoud’s pharmacy was quiet. Except for painkillers and other products, the store’s shelves were empty.
在貝魯特的Zoukaq al-Blat街區，馬哈茂德·馬哈茂德的藥店非常安靜。除了止痛藥等產品，藥店的貨架上空空蕩蕩。
Mahmoud believes suppliers are holding back drugs because they are waiting for higher prices — or smuggling them out of the country. One gout drug, he said, was found in Iraq, selling for $7, more than five times its price in Lebanon.
馬哈茂德認為，供應商在囤積藥品等著漲價，或是將其走私到國外。他說，人們發現一種痛風藥在伊拉克賣7美元，是黎巴嫩售價的5倍以上。
「They are destroying the profession,」 said Mahmoud. 「With the way the country is going, the profession is collapsing.」
馬哈茂德表示：「他們正在摧毀這個行業。隨著國家的發展，這個行業正在崩潰。」
I’m John Russell.
我是約翰·羅素。
real estate – n. property such as land or buildings
nurse – n. a medical worker
panic – n. a state or feeling of extreme fear that makes someone unable to act or think normally
hoard – v. to collect and hide a large amount of (something valuable)
subsidy – n. money that the government pays to keep prices low; financial assistance
black market – n. a system through which things are bought and sold illegally
chaos – n. complete disorder
shelf – n. a flat object that provides a surface for storing objects on which objects can be placed
gout – n. a disease that causes painful enlargement of the joints, especially in the toes
profession – n. occupation; job
*內容來源51VOA.COM原創翻譯，侵刪~