The Iraq health sector shift from publicly funded health services to private business!
Sarhang Salar Ahm – Activist
One of the beginner human rights in all societies: everyone has the right to access health services without discrimination, like medicines, hospitals, emergency service. The governments have a responsibility to ensure that citizens are provided publicly funded health services. To build a developed society, we need a high-level healthcare system. Also, this is a right of everyone to get healthcare services and have a healthy life. For this purpose, developed countries establish national health sectors. These systems protect citizens from high-cost medical services and promote equity in healthcare access. In developed countries, the governments and leaders can’t make negative impacts on the healthcare systems and use them for business purposes.
Iraq and healthcare service!
The health sector of Iraq is ruined, but rather struggling due to a combination of factors including prolonged conflict, shortage of professionals, and corruption. The Iraqi health sector is solely controlled by the government and political leaders, and they devastated the public health sector. Also includes a growing private sector and a complex interplay of factors including political influence, corruption, and external factors. So, expanding the private healthcare sector and shrinking the public sector raises concerns about access to, quality, and money laundering by leaders.
The public health service in Iraq!
The Iraqi health minister is Dr Salh Mahdi Alhasnawey. He is Shia, close to Prime Minister Mhamad Alshayah Alsudani. The health minister is not busy doing his ministry’s work as much as he is meeting Shia’s leaders. The minister uses his ministry to facilitate Shia and Hashd Alshabi (PMF) leaders to open a large number of private hospitals and pharmaceutical import companies. At the same time, the public health sector suffers from many problems, like shortage of medications, shortage of staff and doctors, no medical buildings. Also, the safety level of medical buildings is very low. The low quality of medical buildings each year causes distress incidents. For example, burning of maternity hospital in Diwaniyah city on January 2024. As a result, four children died and hundreds were injured. Also, burned corona hospital in Nasryah city in 2021.
The Kurdistan Region in Iraq and health sector problems!
The Kurdistan Region in Iraq has a completely failed sector and has become a business sector for political leaders.
Health Minister Dr. Saman Albarzanji is a loyal member of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and close to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. This minister sees the leaders of his party and the Barzani family very clearly in his ministry and is proud of his party and loyalty to his party leader Masoud Barzani. He has hung several pictures of his party leader Masoud Barzani in his office as a sign of pride.
Saman Barzanji has helped his party leaders open a private hospital and a pharmaceutical import company, through which they have raised a lot of money.
At the same time, the public health sector is in a bad situation and suffers from many problems such as lack of doctors and staff, lack of medicines, lack of basic services in hospitals. Even basic medicines such as painkillers are not available in some hospitals and centers. Another of Saman Barzanji’s corruption is forcing hospitals in the public and private sectors to buy their supplies from a company called North Light, which is close to the family of Barzani, the leader of his party. In 2021, the minister has not hired any employees and doctors. This disrupted the public sector and forced citizens to the private sector.
I hope that the judiciary in Iraq will no longer be part of the corruption in the health sector and take a stand, and citizens to demand their basic right to health services and speak out.