Special ReportRoots of Iraq's maternal and child health crisis run deep
Section snippets
Maternal and child health
10 years after American and British forces toppled Saddam Hussein and helped initiate a decade of intense violence, life expectancy at birth in Iraq is 59 years—at least 12 years less than in Egypt, Syria, Morocco, and Jordan, all of which are far poorer countries. The rate of children dying in the first year of life is 32 deaths for every 1000 livebirths—about the same as it was in 1989. Yemen, with just a quarter of Iraq's per head wealth, is the only country in the region with a similar
Health spending
The roots of Iraq's maternal and child health crisis are deep. Although between 1979 and 1989 under-5 mortality rates fell from 120 to 60 per 1000 livebirths, during the 1990s, wars and economic sanctions led to an estimated 90% cut to national health spending, and serious declines in population health outcomes as many health professionals left the country. From 1990 to 1996, infant, child, and maternal mortality rates more than doubled. Progress since then, through a period of renewed violence
Health system strengthening
The talent problem at the ministry, Hussain reflects, mirrors the overall lack of medical expertise throughout the country. According to government figures, with 24 745 physicians currently in practice, Iraq's physician-to-population ratio is about 60% lower than the average for the other 23 nations in WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region. The nurse-to-patient ratio is about 35% lower than the regional average.
Migration of health professionals “is still a big concern”, according to the 2011
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Clinical and therapeutic characteristics and medical cost of managing cancer patients in Al-Anbar, Iraq: A cross-sectional study
2022, Saudi Pharmaceutical JournalCitation Excerpt :Because of the damage imposed to government healthcare organizations, the disruption of supply chains, and the “brain drain” of important medical personnel, this reduced the quality of healthcare services (Yadalla et al., 2021). There are now only 7.8 physicians and 14.9 nurses per 10,000 people in Iraq, which is 60 % and 35 % fewer than the average physician ratio and the average nurse-to-population ratio, respectively, for the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region (Al Hilfi 2013, Webster 2013). In addition, it is believed that 70 % of the medical professionals who were in Iraq in 2003 have now left the country (Webster 2013).
Women and Health: The key for sustainable development
2015, The LancetCitation Excerpt :Additionally, women's reproductive health is affected in war. During the Iraq–Kuwait conflict, infant and maternal mortality more than doubled in Iraq between 1990 and 1996.77 Eight of ten countries with the highest maternal mortality ratios are affected by political fragility and conflict.78
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