Head of Lebanon’s parliamentary health committee Asem Araji confirmed that 70% of Lebanese people could not buy medicine after lifting subsidies and the sharp increase in prices.

The hike in prices prompted angry activists to protest in front of the Ministry of Health on Thursday.

Lebanese authorities had decided to lift the subsidy for chronic diseases medicines partially.

The move came in light of a high exchange rate of the dollar on the black market coupled with the depletion of hard currency reserves at the Central Bank of Lebanon, which used to provide dollars to import these medicines.

“The subsidy was set according to certain conditions, but due to the collapse of the Lebanese pound, prices rose frighteningly,” said Araji after a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

“70% of the Lebanese are unable to buy medications, which is why we asked for a meeting with Mikati and told him that this issue was not acceptable, and we discussed a number of solutions,” revealed Araji.