BEIRUT, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Caretaker Health Minister Jamil Jabak urged the central bank governor on Tuesday to secure U.S. currency at the regular rate for the import of medical equipment, the National News Agency reported.

"We cannot bear any austerity measures in the medical sector. This sector is threatened to completely stop its services and we ask the governor to deal with this issue quickly," Jabak said.

Jabak said that Lebanon has a severe lack of medical equipment which needs a quick solution.

He added that the central bank had promised to secure U.S. dollar for medical equipment but it only succeeded in securing the currency for pharmaceutical drugs at a regular rate.

"The central bank has agreed to secure 50 percent of the U.S. currency needed at the regular rate while the other 50 percent should be secured by hospitals which means that hospitals will increase their costs," he said.

Lebanon has witnessed in the past few months a shortage in U.S. dollars due to the economic slowdown and the drop in cash injections from Lebanese abroad, reducing the central bank's foreign currency reserves, leading to a shortage in dollar for both businesses and individuals.

This has prompted banks to put restrictions on the transfers of dollars to outside the country for import purposes.

Also, the demand for dollar has created a parallel market in which one dollar is sold on the black market at up to 2,000 Lebanese pounds which is higher than the official exchange rate of 1,515 pounds.

The Central Bank of Lebanon has previously issued a circular to secure the U.S. currency for the import of a few basic products such as fuel, medicine and wheat. Enditem

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