BEIRUT, Lebanon — Due to Lebanon's continuous economic collapse and exorbitant inflation rates, most of the country's population is unable to access the health care system. Medical shortages and high hospital costs have rekindled interest in ancient medical practices, which differ in type and price. Whether it is traditional Islamic medicine in apothecaries or modern healing centers that combine eastern traditions with Arabic teachings, experts told Al-Monitor that the coronavirus pandemic — mixed with the economic crisis — has caused demand to increase.

The Middle East has always been a major center for alternative medicine, which is a concoction of Islamic, Chinese and Ayurvedic therapies. In Lebanon, these practices manifest as herbalism or the combining of herbs, spices and natural oils, as well as physical healings such as cupping, energy healing and acupuncture to treat illnesses. Medications range in price from less than $4 to more than $100.

Hajj Khalil Darwish has been in the business of herbalism for over two decades. His apothecaries are located in Aytit, a village in southern Lebanon, and Burj el-Barajneh, a neighborhood in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

As people panicked and feared for their lives during the coronavirus pandemic, demand picked up, he told Al-Monitor. "Two years since the pandemic started and I'm starting to run out of stock. The demand sometimes exceeds the supply as people are frustrated with the increasing prices of regular medicine and doctor visits."