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Iraqi Health Minister Says Health Care, Services in "Decline"

Posted on: Saturday, 25 December 2004, 06:00 CST

Text of report by Iraqi National Congress (INC) weekly newspaper Al-Mu'tamar on 20 December

Iraqi Health Minister Dr Ala-al-Din al-Alwan said that there is a decline in public health, health care, and preventive care services, as well as in public health reinforcement services and all fields related to immunization, the sterilization of health care facilities, food safety, and disease detection. During his meeting with the directors of a number of health institutions and sectors in Baghdad, the minister indicated that action is being taken to rebuild the health sector's reinforcement elements under the present situation. He emphasized the fact that many citizens receive only the minimum level of health care and that the ministry's strategy for the next four years focuses on coping with urgent issues, especially since 40 per cent of the basic medicines are totally unavailable for the seventh month in a row this year. He also indicated that 35 per cent of the medicine reserves will not last for three more months.

The health minister added that administrative corruption has spread in the ministry for many years and is not a new situation. He said that the handling of this issue is included within the ministry's strategy, in addition to the issues of emergency health care, the provision of basic services, food safety, setting up medical laboratories, and the detection of contagious diseases. The minister continued: We are trying to lay down statistical information in this regard in order to come up with clear and accurate solutions.

Al-Alwan said that a study of 214 health centres in Iraq indicates that health conditions have declined greatly and that the evaluation of health institutions that is being carried out includes the achievement of justice and equality in the provision of health services, buildings, and equipment. He expressed hope that the security situation would stabilize in order to properly implement the ministry's plans within the time limit set by the ministry's strategy. Al-Alwan explained that training capable and talented people in health institutions is a pressing need and that the plan to develop the working human resources must be reconsidered.

The minister concluded his talk by referring to the importance of the ministry's fourth strategy in improving management, trying to lay down working plans in a scientific manner and based on accurate information, adopting modern methods in the administrative sector, arriving at a common vision, and dividing the activities to be done over the next four years, especially since the ministry's budget was raised to 1bn dollars. This means that the health expenditure rate per Iraqi citizen has increased to 40 dollars, he said. Al-Alwan also called for everyone's cooperation so as to reinforce the health care system and improve the level of accommodation and treatment services provided to citizens.

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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