Page 67 - IRANRptSep22

9.1.8 Healthcare sector news
Prices of essential drugs ‘quadruple in Iran amid move to cut major subsidy’
Prices of some essential drugs have reportedly more than quadrupled in Iran amid plans announced by the cash-strapped government to end a major subsidy.
Skyrocketing prices of pharmaceuticals were likely to surge further when the government officially withdraws the subsidy, a prospect that has triggered alarm and anger in Iran, RFE/RL reported.
In 2018, then-president Hassan Rouhani brought in the subsidy to provide billions in subsidised dollars for Iranian manufacturers to import shipments of essential food and medicine. The objective was to control prices even though the Iranian rial was severely depreciated in the wake of the US reinstating swingeing sanctions against Tehran. There is now anxiety that the ending of the subsidy will cause Iranian drug companies to hike prices.
"Medication is not something you can live without," a Tehran resident who did not want to be named told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. "Many people may not be able to afford medicine anymore. But they will be forced to buy them at any price just to save their lives."
Ending the subsidy would save the current Raisi administration around $9bn annually state media reported.
There is, meanwhile, confusion caused by contradictory statements from officials over whether the government has already cut the subsidy. Amid that confusion, prices have continued to ascend at a rapid rate.
US sanctions on Iran supposedly exclude food and medicine. But in reality, the restrictions have made it difficult for Tehran to purchase some drugs, according to Human Rights Watch.
9.1.9 Property & construction sector news
Western expats sell homes and move out of Turkish resorts for quieter life as Iranians, Russians move in
Western expats and ‘long-stay’ tourists residing in Turkish seaside resorts are moving on to other locations given influxes of Iranian and Russian migrants fleeing unfavourable circumstances back home, according to Turkish media reports.
“People from Russia, Iran and also countries such as Iraq have started coming here quite recently. Alanya is seeing intensive migration and it continues to grow day by day,” Keriim Balytkay, president of Alanya Real Estate Brokers Association (ALEKOD) in Alanya, a beach resort city in Turkey’s southern Antalya Province, told local press.
He added: “As a result, Europeans want to leave the city as it gets too crowded. They are concerned about migration and the density [of inhabitation] that Alanya is getting. The Europeans are selling their apartments in Alanya because they prefer quiet places, they want to get away from the crowded environment.
“The main reason why they want to leave is not because of cultural conflict, it’s because of traffic and the density of people.”
Local councillor in Alanya, Fikret Arik, spoke of 20 Finns who sold their houses and moved from the city. "Many home sales are to those who come from the Middle East, and the formation of a new group of Alanya residents is pushing Europeans out of our city," he added.
Iranians in recent years have become the biggest foreign buyers of homes on the Turkish market, followed by Russians and Iraqis. Middle-class Iranian, Russian and other expat buyers are seen as often making property investments to avoid the consequences of further depreciation in their
67 IRAN Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com