PHA-Exchange> PHA 2 Media Coverage: British Medical Journal- STORY 2: Iraq doctor tells of health crimes

[UNNIKRISHNAN P.V. (Dr)]

BMJ  2005;331:252 (30 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7511.252-b 

 

News

The People's Health Movement Assembly, Cuenca, Ecuador 18-23 July 

Iraq doctor tells of health crimes 

Ronald Labonte 
Cuenca 
Delegates to the People's Health Movement assembly in Cuenca (18-23
July) also heard of alleged crimes against health in Iraq. 
Iraqi physician Dr Salam Ismael claimed in a passionate testimony that
"Crimes against health have been committed for two years in my country,
and no one knows about them." Speaking on behalf of the organisation
Doctors for Iraq, he described a number of alleged violations to human
rights since occupation. 
The organisation of 250 doctors was founded in 2003 to do research, give
humanitarian relief, and promote the right to health. It has catalogued
a number of human rights violations, including bombing hospitals,
military raids on hospitals, killing patients who may be insurgents in
their hospital beds and blocking ambulance transport of wounded
combatants during the siege of Falluja. 
Dr Ismael said there were times when physicians were harassed or
arrested, sometimes in the middle of performing operations, because, Dr
Ismael explained, "they are told they are treating insurgents. We tell
them that under the Geneva Convention we treat all hurt or wounded
people, including US soldiers and Iraqi security forces, but it makes
little difference." 
These alleged violations of health rights are occurring against the
backdrop of an occupation that has dramatically worsened health
conditions for most Iraqi citizens.
<http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/331/7511/252-b#FIG1#FIG1>  
 

 
According to Dr Judith Cook of the UK based organisation Medact, "Sixty
three per cent of households lack proper sanitation, 46% lack access to
drinking water, food availability is still sparse with many reliant upon
a system of food basket distribution, and, despite a large increase in
per capita health funding in 2004, the public system remains severely
underfunded." 
The downwards spiral of Iraq's public health system began with the 1991
Gulf war, the conference heard. "Sanctions helped to destroy one of the
Middle East's best health systems and resulted in over a million
deaths," Dr Ismael said. "Sanctions also led to a breakdown in health
system organisation, creating an environment in which corruption began
to thrive. This has become worse since occupation." 
"There is one hospital that has no drugs," Dr Ismael recounted. "One
employee was fired because he was corrupt. He was reinstated in the
administration department after the occupation. Instead of using the
limited budget to buy drugs, he spent 5m Iraqi dinar [£2000; $3600;
{euro}2900] on new uniforms because he could get a kickback from the
uniforms. This cancer of corruption is destroying my nation." 
Doctors reportedly carry guns to prevent looting of the minimal supplies
of drugs and other resources from hospitals. The main hospital in
Baghdad is able to get only 15% of the water it needs for its patients. 
  _____  

{webplus.f1}Longer versions of these articles are on bmj.com 
See  <http://www.doctorsforiraq.org> www.doctorsforiraq.org. 
 

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