Thousands march in North Macedonia over claims cancer hospital staff stole drugs meant for patients

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES
Associated Press

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Thousands of people have protested in North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje, over allegations that patients at a state cancer hospital missed life-saving treatment because staff were stealing the expensive drugs to sell on the black market. Chanting “Murderers,” demonstrators demanded the resignation of the country’s health minister and the hospital management. Among the protesters outside the government headquarters were several people who said their relatives had died after being given placebos instead of proper chemotherapy. In May, police arrested a nurse at the Skopje hospital who was allegedly caught on CCTV smuggling cancer drugs out of the building, and accused her of stealing them for sale on the black market.