埃镑贬值后 埃及面临医药短缺.docxVIP

埃镑贬值后埃及面临医药短缺Egyptians Face Medicine Shortages as Pound Plunges埃镑贬值后，埃及面临医药短缺Fatima was already struggling to find cancer drugs for her father when a devaluation of the Egyptian pound this month caused the imported medicine to disappear altogether.自从这个月埃镑贬值造成进口药物短缺以来，法蒂玛就一直在为她父亲苦苦寻找治疗癌症的药物。Before, I could still find it if I searched in several pharmacies. Today I cant, said the 34-year old teacher, who asked not to be named in full.这位不愿透露全名的34岁女教师表示，以前只要找几家药店就能买到药了，但现在却无计可施。A dollar crunch over the past year had already driven up prices for imports including drugs, causing shortages in medicines to treat diabetes, heart and kidney diseases.埃及过去几年来的美元短缺已经抬高了包括药物在内的进口物品价格，造成糖尿病、心脏病和肾脏疾病药物的匮乏。That turned into a crisis this month after Egypt floated its currency as part of an economic reform package linked to a $12-billion IMF loan.11月份，在埃及获准世界货币基金组织的120亿美元贷款并实行自由浮动汇率之后，这样的短缺进一步恶化成为一场危机。The Egyptian pound, which had been pegged at 8.89 to the dollar, now trades at banks for up to 17 pounds a dollar.尽管埃镑对美元的官方汇率曾经固定在8.89，但现如今1美元却能换到17埃镑。Right after the central bank decision, distribution companies informed us there would be a quota for imported medicines each pharmacy can get, said Maryse Michel, who works at a pharmacy on a busy street in Cairo.Maryse Michel是开罗繁华市区的一家药店职员。她声称，在央行做出决策之后，经销商就告知各个药店，进口药物将进行限额。Every day people come asking for medicines I dont have -- maybe 40 percent of clients, she said.每天都有顾客前来购买短缺的药物，而这样的顾客也许占到了40%。Distributors say importing drugs or their ingredients has become more expensive, but they cannot pass on the extra costs to clients as the government has set prices for the medicines.经销商表示，现在购买进口药物或配方价格更高了，但是他们却不能将埃镑贬值造成的额外支出转嫁给消费者，因为政府对药品进行了定价。The health ministry in turn accuses distributors of stockpiling the medicines to jack up prices.而卫生部则指责经销商囤积药品，抬高价格。-Too costly-Medicines are the latest products affected by the falling pound, with shortages in other imports as Egypt embarks on a painful austerity programme after years of unrest that ha