12.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Inefficient fund allocation leads to insecurities in food, shelter, sanitation and health care (" Addendum to UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-Seekers") [ID 24353]

"An indication of the Government’s poor capacity has been its inability to fully spend available reconstruction funds. According to the GAO, a large portion of Iraq’s USD10 billion budget allocated for capital projects and reconstruction will go unspent by the end of 2007. According to Oxfam, Iraqis are suffering from a growing lack of food, shelter, water and sanitation, health care, education, and employment. Fifteen percent of Iraqis are food-insecure and in dire need of humanitarian assistance; 70% are without adequate water supplies (compared to 50% in 2003); 80% lack effective sanitation; 28% of children are malnourished (compared to 19% before the 2003 invasion); and 92% of Iraqi children suffer learning problems, mostly due to the climate of fear."

Document(s): Open document

14.08.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

According to doctors, dozens of women in Iraq each day face delivery difficulties caused by violence and the curfew that is limiting access to health care ("Violence taking toll on pregnant mothers, infants") [ID 21584]

Document(s): Open document

06.06.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Baghdad: Corruption, neglect and insurgent attacks affect public services; limited electricity and drinking water are main problems, causing disease and frustration ("Poor municipal services worsen living conditions") [ID 20678]

Document(s): Open document

19.12.2006 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Baghdad: The lives of thousands of citizens are going to be affected by the Iraqi Red Crescent Society's (IRCS) decision to suspend its activities, according to doctors, humanitarian workers and ordinary Iraqis who depend on the organisation for their survival ("Suspension of IRCS work could affect the lives of thousands") [ID 18091]

Document(s): Open document

03.05.2005 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Shortage of drugs for epileptic children ("original document (English)") [ID 10872]

"Iraqi doctors have reported a shortage of medicine for children suffering from epilepsy because of the high cost of purchasing the drugs needed to treat the condition."

Document(s): original document (English)

27.10.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Call to improve care for children with Down's syndrome ("original document") [ID 10903]

""Don't discriminate, we are normal people, and we just want to love you," says a child in a video recorded by the Hiba to Allah Centre for Down's syndrome in Baghdad.

However, for the many thousands of children living with the disability in Iraq there is little help or support, leading professionals and parents to call on both the government and NGOs to address the situation. Down's syndrome is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome, chromosome 21, at conception. It is associated with a number of medical problems, including increased risks of hearing and vision defects, heart abnormalities, infection, leukaemia and thyroid disorders. Down's syndrome is also associated with a range of developmental difficulties, such as delayed motor and cognitive skills. It affects around 2 million people worldwide.

"I have been doing this job since my daughter was born with this syndrome, trying to teach others that a loving and stimulating environment is essential for growth. But sometimes you fail as you're given no help from others," Sahira Abdul Lattif, president of the Down's Syndrome Association and director of the Hiba to Allah Centre for Down's syndrome in Baghdad, told IRIN.

During Saddam Hussein's regime, it was forbidden to receive any kind of aid from NGOs while the government itself did nothing to help, the association said. Since the war that toppled Saddam, many NGOs visited the association but only a few have carried out what they promised, Lattif said.

"Those children need special care but the new interim government is not doing anything to provide stability and security for their future," she said. They haven't received any kind of aid from the government and most of the schools in Iraq specialised in this area have been looted and not repaired yet. Children are staying in their homes without the education required for their development.

"It is very sad to see your son at home when he needs special care. Even with all our love, he needs to grow up in a special place where everyone can understand him and teach him. I feel as if my hands were tied," Huda Al-Salam, a mother of a child with Down's syndrome, told IRIN.

The children lacking care from specialised professionals and there are no volunteers to help at centres, Lattif added, while the government is very slow to make any kind of decision about what, if any, care they will have. Teachers working in the area claim that their salaries haven't been improved by the government while those of other professionals have. The maximum salary is less than US $100 a month and the schools have no way of offering them more.

"I've been doing my job for many years with all my heart and passion. All I want is to see that the children are benefiting from it, but it's difficult to do it alone with no help from the government," Suha Muhammad, a maths teacher for Down's syndrome students, told IRIN.

Lattif added that since the end of the war last spring only one NGO, the Japanese People, had offered them financial support that gave them a chance to furnish facilities and allow some kind of hope for the future for the children. The help included a generator and an air conditioning unit for the school.

The issue presents a financial problem for parents who can often ill-afford the type of medical care that can be needed for their children.

The Ministry of Health told IRIN that children with Down's syndrome will be one of their future priorities. But given the critical situation in the country, the ministry said that workers in this area and parents would have to be patient. They also said that their have been some positive developments already, such as the Dentistry Clinic of Baghdad University opening its doors to treat the children free of charge."

Document(s): original document

28.09.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Increase in diseases caused by dirty water ("original document") [ID 10917]

Document(s): original document

27.09.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Baghdad: Hepatitis outbreak in capital ("original document") [ID 10918]

"At least 60 cases of hepatitis E have been reported in the Baghdad suburb of Allatefiya, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed."

Document(s): original document

27.07.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

15 out of 68 private hospitals offer free surgery ("original document") [ID 10868]

"As Iraq's public health system struggles to provide good medical care, some private hospitals are doing free surgery for patients who need it. (...) While a hernia operation is considered to be relatively easy, it costs about US $200 to perform in Iraq (...) a project by Health Friends Organisation, an Iraqi NGO, in which 15 out of 68 private hospitals across the country now donate at least one free surgical operation per month to patients in desperate need of care. (...) Surgery regularly costs $600 to more than $1,200 - an astronomical sum for people used to paying less than $1 for a visit to the doctor."

Document(s): original document

13.07.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Basra: New prosthetic centre for children ("original document") [ID 10907]

Document(s): original document

11.05.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Reconstructive surgery: Burns Victims ("original document") [ID 10869]

Since the end of war last year, the Italian Red Cross has cared for 7,379 burn patients in Baghdad.

Document(s): original document

20.04.2004 - Source: International Organization for Migration

Spezialised hospitals working under capacity and overwhelmed with patients ("original document") [ID 10870]

Evacuation of patients who cannot be treated inside Iraq with free hospital beds and treatment offered by foreign donor countries.

"The French Ministry of Foreign of Affairs has contributed Euro 40,000 to IOM’s Medical Evacuation and Health Reconstruction Programme in Iraq (MEHRPI) to pay for training at the Interventional Cardiology Centre at Basra’s Talimi teaching hospital.

The ongoing crisis in Iraq has resulted in further disruption of an already fragile health care service. Many hospitals and health care services are still working under capacity and are overwhelmed with patients, particularly those specializing in cardio surgery, oncology, orthopaedics, haematology, ophthalmology and serious burns.

MEHRPI, which is supported by core funding from ECHO and the State of Kuwait, combines selective medical evacuations with assistance in helping to re-build Iraq's dilapidated specialist health care system. It matches patients who cannot be treated inside Iraq with free hospital beds and treatment offered by foreign donor countries.

To date, 790 cases have been referred to MEHRPI by hospitals throughout Iraq. Some 389 have been identified as eligible for evacuation by the programme's international medical selection team. Of 186 patients evacuated to 11 countries since late May, 78 have already returned to Iraq, following successful treatment.

Under MEHRPI, IOM identifies host hospitals, arranges travel documentation and transport for patients and at least one family member. It also monitors treatment, provides feedback to families and, when the treatment is complete, coordinates transport back to Iraq."

Document(s): original document

08.04.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Focus on maternal and infant healthcare in Baghdad ("original document") [ID 10894]

Information about the health situation and treatment of pregnant women and infants.

Document(s): original document

05.04.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Women afraid to seek healthcare in south ("original document") [ID 10895]

Lack of security continues to prevent progress in health care, particularly among women too scared to leave their homes.

Document(s): original document

12.03.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Improvements needed in thalassaemia treatment ("original document") [ID 10867]

Information about the lack of treatment for children are suffering from thalassaemia, a congenital blood disease almost unknown in the West, but widespread throughout the Middle East.

Document(s): original document

17.12.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Help for war wounded and landmine victims ("original document") [ID 10908]

Prosthetic Limbs Centre (PLC) in Dahuk,

"(...) It employs over 90 staff, including technicians to make the prostheses and orthotics, and physiotherapists to fit them. Many of the staff are mine victims themselves. The PLC's executive director, Dr Hamid Muhammad Tahir, told IRIN that since 1999 the PLC had treated nearly 11,500 patients, many whom had lost limbs due to mines or other munitions.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed or maimed by mines across Iraq since they were laid there in the 1990s on an estimated 530 sq km of land (...)

The threat of landmines is still formidable in this vast country, where the border with Iran was heavily mined during the 1980-88 war, and subsequently so were areas in the south during the 1991 Gulf War, as well as areas along the borders with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and possibly Syria.

Prior to 1991, the Iraqi army had also left vast quantities of munitions littered around the country, and the Coalition forces added to what was already there in the northern and southern no-fly zones. Between 1998 and 2002, over 9.7 million square metres of land were cleared by the IMAP.

Known mined areas in northern Iraq include a five-km deep strip along the borders with Turkey and Iran. Moreover, many mines were also laid in the northern governorates of Dahuk, Arbil and Sulaymaniyah, where numerous battles were fought over the past three decades.

According to the Mine Awareness Strategy in Northern Iraq prepared by the UN Office for Project Services, one-quarter of all the villages in northern Iraq had been adversely affected socially and economically by landmines and other unexploded ordnance (UXO). In 2001 alone, about 30 people per month were involved in UXO accidents.

Northern Iraq is still littered with such UXO due to more than three decades of war, both between Kurdish forces and Saddam Hussein’s troops and between Kurdish factions. Moreover, because the area was adjacent to hostile countries, thousands of mines were laid, Hamid said. "The problem of the Kurdish people is that we are surrounded by enemies, and they just want to leave us in a bad condition."

Meanwhile, although the number of mine victims was decreasing as education reached more people and clearance programmes continued, a steady flow of casualties was still reaching the PLC, as well as former patients returning to have their prostheses replaced. "Whatever they need, we can do something," he stressed. Hamid, a paediatrician, said what brought him the most joy was seeing children who had come to the PLC unable to stand, walking out of it unaided. (...)"

Document(s): original document

09.12.2003 - Source: International Organization for Migration

specialist treatment: neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, and reconstructive surgery ("original document") [ID 10871]

"IRAQ - IOM Supports Medevac of Iraqi Children to Greece - IOM has supported the evacuation of a further 25 Iraqi children from Baghdad to Greece for medical treatment unavailable in Iraq.

The evacuation of the patients, who come from Baghdad and various regions of Iraq to hospitals in and around Athens, was on behalf of the Greek government and Médecins du Monde (MDM) Greece.

Staff from IOM's Medical Evacuation and Health Reconstruction Programme (MEHRPI) in Iraq assisted in the selection of the patients and facilitated their transport from Iraq to Amman, Jordan, where they joined a flight to Athens.

The children, each of whom is accompanied by a family member, will receive specialist treatment in areas such as neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, and reconstructive surgery to treat severe burn injuries.

The evacuation, which follows an earlier evacuation of 14 Iraqi children to Greece in July, brings the number of Iraqi patients evacuated to Greece with MEHRPI support to 39.

MEHRPI, which is supported by funding from ECHO and Kuwait, combines selective medical evacuations with help to re-build Iraq's dilapidated specialist health care system. It matches patients who cannot be treated inside Iraq with free hospital beds and treatment offered by foreign donor countries.

To date 778 cases have been referred to MEHRPI by hospitals throughout Iraq. Some 384 have been identified as eligible for evacuation by the programme's international medical selection team. Of 145 patients evacuated to 11 countries since late May, 68 have already returned to Iraq, following successful treatment.

Under MEHRPI, IOM identifies host hospitals, arranges travel documentation and transport for the patient and at least one family member, monitors treatment, provides feedback to families and, when the treatment is complete, coordinates transport back to Iraq."

Document(s): original document

07.11.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Maternal deaths have tripled since 1990 ("original document") [ID 10896]

"Maternal deaths in Iraq have tripled since 1990 due to a crumbling health system, a new report by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed this week. The study found that bleeding, ectopic pregnancies and prolonged labour were among the causes of the reported 310 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2002. This figure had risen from 117 deaths in 1989. Miscarriages had also risen, partly due to stress and exposure to chemical contaminants, the report said."

Document(s): original document

04.11.2003 -

UNFPA: Maternal Deaths Nearly Triple in Iraq ("original source") [ID 10897]

"The number of women who die of pregnancy and childbirth in Iraq has nearly tripled since 1990, according to a reproductive health survey conducted by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Bleeding, ectopic pregnancies and prolonged labour are among the causes of the reported 310 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2002, which the study found had risen sharply from 117 deaths in 1989. Miscarriages have also risen, partly due to stress and exposure to chemical contaminants.

Breakdown in security, as well as weakened communication and transport systems, have made access to medical facilities difficult for women. As a result, more women -- some 65 per cent -- are giving birth at home, the majority without skilled help."

Document(s): original source