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London – The violence faced by doctors and other medical personnel in Iraq is causing serious damage in the sector that may constitute a lack of access to medical care in this country in crisis.
Armed violence, extortion, reprisals, physical and verbal violence and chronic lack of resources are pushing the Iraqi medical sector to the brink.
Last November, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) launched a campaign entitled "Health care in danger", which aimed to raise awareness of the risks of the medical sector, but to no avail.
Dr. Fadhel Mustafa, a member of the Iraqi Doctors Association, said that the problem of violence against doctors, nurses and hospital staff had become a constant fact.
A local survey found that young graduates want to leave Iraq and settle abroad. "About 70% of those surveyed said they would like to leave, while 98% said they thought the violence would continue to affect healthcare providers," she said.
Shaima al-Kamli, a doctor working in Basra, southern Iraq, graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Baghdad University in 2009, France 24, out of 348 of her colleagues with whom I was I graduated, 285 left the country. According to a study published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, Baghdad experienced a 22% drop in the number of specialist physicians from 2004 to 2007.
Doctors are often threatened by family members. Observers who closely follow the events offer different interpretations of what is happening, but public opinion attributes these acts to delay and tribalism.
The rapid decline in the resources of the Iraqi state and the decline in its funding capabilities have undermined and paralyzed many sectors. As a result, the prestige of the state has diminished and clans have been encouraged
Establish "justice" in its own way and according to one's point of view. "Tribal assailants fabricate allegations of medical negligence so that we, the doctors, are accusing us of the death of a family member, even if he dies outside of the hospital", said a 32-year-old doctor.
The year 2003 was marked by the biggest crisis of the Iraqi medical sector after the US invasion of Iraq. The effects of forced regime change still exist.
"Few people appreciate our work," said the Baghdad-based doctor, adding that he dreamed of continuing his life in Europe where he could deserve the respect lost in Iraq.
Ministry of Health officials can no longer deny daily the physical damage suffered by doctors, but offer few superficial solutions. The most recent and ridiculous solution was to offer doctors and medical personnel weapons, but only when they needed to protect themselves.
Some remember that the 1969 Iraqi Penal Code protects doctors and staff, but they say that it is only ink on paper. Few hospitals apply it while others ignore it for fear of provoking the wrath of the tribes.
"Being a doctor in Iraq today means that you will receive $ 4.5 an hour, no protection at work and the risk of being killed by a family member of the patient an hour after his deaths, "said Muhannad.
No Iraqi state official has lobbied parliament to pass a law protecting health workers. Although the violence is not new, its use has a negative impact on the medical sector.
The ICRC campaign has raised public opinion, but not enough to discourage Iraqi health professionals from fleeing abroad. The continued use of violence, including armed violence, and verbal abuse, is a distrust of patients and doctors, and undermines Iraq's health care system and the safety of its staff.
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