Are Dialysis Centres Across Egypt Shutting Down Due to the Dollar Crisis?

Egypt's depleted foreign reserves and waning economy have cast their shadow over the country's ailing health sector, from drug shortages and talk about banning imported pharmaceutical supplies, things have taken a turn to the worse. 

A viral Facebook post purports to show a note hung at a dialysis centre in Helwan telling patients that they will have to seek treatment elsewhere by December 1st, 2016 due to the lack of medical supplies to perform the procedure. 

The post has sparked an outrage among social media users, with the hashtag #انقذوا_مرضى_غسيل_الكلى (save dialysis patients) trending heavily. Users have been reporting the closure of dialysis centres in several Egyptian governorates, and with the procedure becoming more and more scarce, reports of price increases in places that still perform it.

(Photo: Reuters/Suhaib Salem)