Calamos Supports Greece
GreekReporter.comGreek NewsEconomyRed Cross Curtails Blood for Greece

Red Cross Curtails Blood for Greece

swissredcrossFlush with $69 billion in cash from international lenders, Greece’s promise to start paying creditors and vendors is lagging nonetheless, with many remaining unpaid for months or years despite providing goods and services, including The Swiss Red Cross, which said it will provide less blood for Greek hospitals, Swiss media reported.
While Greece relies on imported blood to make up for low supplies at home, the Swiss organization said it aimed at reducing its financial exposure and focusing efforts on helping Greeks to improve their blood distribution service. The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party has organized blood drives but said it would accept it only from Greeks and not from foreigners and immigrants, a policy the government has denounced.
According to the Swiss organization’s non-profit transfusion service, Greece has been receiving around 28,000 blood pockets annually. Following a new agreement signed by the Swiss organization and the Greek Ministry of Health, this is expected to be halved by 2020, starting in 2015, because the government hasn’t lived up to its promise to pay.
Many other major suppliers to Greek hospitals and the country’s health care service, such as drug and medical supply companies are also awaiting payments. Greek media reports said the late payments are caught up in the country’s notoriously slow bureaucracy and some political infighting.

See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!



Related Posts