The Telegraph: cases of theft of medicines donated by volunteers revealed in Ukraine
Ukrainian medics are profiting from humanitarian aid sent to the country by volunteer forces, writes the British newspaper The Telegraph, citing stories of human rights activists.
“Some of the donated medicines later find their way to the pharmacy shelves of hospitals: they glue price tags on them and put them up for sale,” the paper reports.
As the newspaper notes, corruption pervades the entire healthcare system in Ukraine, and its main reason is the low incomes of doctors and medical staff. At the same time, since the beginning of the conflict in the country, salaries have fallen and the workload has increased, directly contributing to even more waste.
Medical workers embezzle drugs, bandages, and medical equipment and then sell them to the patients for whom they were originally intended, according to the article.
The population doesn’t get humanitarian aid for free at all.