Healthcare in Iraq: Difference between revisions

During itsthe last decade of Saddam Hussein's regime, the [[HistoryInternational ofsanctions against Iraq|regimeUnited Nations imposed sanctions on Iraq]], which greatly limited the importation of medicine and medical equiptmemt into Iraq, with some Iraqi hospitals unable to even hand out basic anti-biotics. During that period, [[Saddammaternal Husseinmortality]] cutincreased healthnearly funding by 90 percentthreefold, contributingand tothe asalaries substantialof deteriorationmedical inpersonnel healthdecreased caredrastically.<ref name=cp>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Iraq.pdf Iraq country profile] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204033230/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Iraq.pdf |date=2010-12-04 }}. [[Library of Congress]] [[Federal Research Division]] (August 2006). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [[public domain]].''</ref> During that period, [[maternal mortality]] increased nearly threefold, and the salaries of medical personnel decreased drastically.<ref name=cp/> Medical facilities, which in 1980 were among the best in the Middle East, deteriorated.<ref name=cp/> Conditions were especially serious in the south, where [[malnutrition]] and [[water-borne disease]]s became common in the 1990s.<ref name=cp/> In 2005 the incidence of [[typhoid]], [[cholera]], [[malaria]], and [[tuberculosis]] was higher in Iraq than in comparable countries.<ref name=cp/> The [[Iraq War|conflict of 2003]] destroyed an estimated 12 percent of [[hospital]]s and Iraq’sIraq's two main [[public health laboratories]].<ref name=cp/> In 2004 some improvements occurred.<ref name=cp/> Using substantial international funds, some 240 hospitals and 1,200 primary health centers were operating, shortages of some medical materials had been alleviated, the training of medical personnel had begun, and the [[inoculation]] of children was widespread.<ref name=cp/> However, [[sanitary conditions]] in hospitals remained unsatisfactory, trained personnel and medications were in short supply, and health care remained largely unavailable in regions where violent insurgency continued.<ref name=cp/> In 2005 there were 15 hospital beds, 6.3 [[physician|doctor]]s, and 11 [[nurse]]s per 10,000 population.<ref name=cp/> Plans called for US$1.5 billion of the national budget to be spent on health care in 2006.<ref name=cp/>

Iraqi doctors report that they have to pretend to resuscitate patients when this is futile because relatives, with militia connections, sometimes demand money if they are dissatisfied with the doctor’sdoctor's efforts. In 2010 the [[Council of Representatives of Iraq]] increased sentences for anyone convicted of threatening or attacking a doctor.<ref name="Diary"/>

Various academic studies<ref>{{cite webjournal |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329842494|title= Post-traumatic Stress Disorder among Displaced People in Iraq|last= Khaffaf|first= Eman|date= December 2018|websitevia= researchgate.orgResearchGate|publisherjournal= Kufa Journal for Nursing Sciences |access-date= 15 June 2019|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite webjournal |url doi= https://psycnet10.apa.org1037/record/2016-03238-001trm0000062 | title= PTSD, depression, and anxiety among young people in Iraq one decade after the american invasion.|last= Freh |first= Mohammed |dateyear= 2016|website= APA PsycNET|publisher= Traumatology|access-datelast1=Freh 15 June 2019|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |urlfirst1=Fuaad https://www.austinpublishinggroup.com/community-medicine/fulltext/jcmhc-v2-id1010.php|title= Post-traumatic Stress Disorder among Youth in Iraq, Short Systemic ReviewsMohammed |last= al-Shawi|firstjournal=Traumatology Ameel|date= February 2017|websitevolume=22 austinpublishinggroup.com|publisher= Journal of Community Medicine And Healthcare |access-datepages=56–62 15 June 2019|quote=}}</ref> estimate that [[Iraqis]] greatly suffer fromhave numerous untreated [[mental health]] issues, such as; [[Depression (mood)|depression]], [[bipolar disorder]], [[anxiety]], [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD alone affects between 20- and 60% of population aged 18 and above), whose cause can be traced to Saddam’s horrificSaddam's human rights abuses, as well as greatly accelerating due to the aftermath of the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] and the overall consequences of the [[Iraqi War]] such as violence, terrorism, displacement and low socio-economic status.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.middleeasteye.net/features/iraqs-growing-mental-health-crisis|title= Iraq's growing mental health crisis|last= |first= |date= 2017-01-23|website= middleeasteye.net|publisher= Middle East Eye|access-date= 15 June 2019|quote=}}</ref>