IRAQ’s HEALTH CARE & EDUCATION

SYSTEM

Isam Saeed

History of health care system in IraqFirst True HospitalsPublic hospitals built  -1000  yrs ago, and it was:

• Free for all• Separate sections for males and females• Hospital clothes• Specialized units• Internal medicine• Orthopedics• Ophthalmology• Psychiatry• Physicians in every specialty – on duty – all shifts• Nurses• Assistants

• Special training for all doctors before starting of practice• Need to pass formal, oral exam in front of specialists• Need to obtain license before practice (913 CE – Baghdad – Caliph al-Muqaddir)• Re-examined – re-certified all doctors in the city due to one medical error, that killed a patient.

Physicians Residency Program

At leaving hospital

Patients were given a new set of clothes and were supported financially until patients becomes better and start working.

Al-Mansouri Hospital –1248 CE

• 8000 Beds• Specialized Wards• Free for all• No limit for inpatient stay• Physicians held accountable for negligence• Physicians only get paid if patients were properly treated or cured.

University of Al-Karaouine – 859 CE

The Guinness Book Of Records, Published 1998, ISBN 0-5535-7895-2, P.242

World’s oldest university

Current health care system

• 1970s—Iraq a leader in healthcare in the region• Prior to the Iran-Iraq war of September 1980 – August

1988 and the subsequent years of conflict and decade of sanctions, Iraq had a high standard of health care relative to the rest of the Arab region. Health care was free, centrally-administered through the Ministry of Health (MoH) and was well-equipped and well-supplied, with modern hospitals and an adequate number of well-trained medical personnel.

8

»A comprehensive health infrastructure.•Wide access to Primary health care.•Adequate referral support. •Sufficient well-trained and skilled staff.

»Iraqi population enjoyed the benefits of one of the best health care systems in the Middle East .

»Heath indicators reflected health of Iraqi population comparable to middle income countries.

Health infrastructure - Iraq (WHO,1989)

Below is some of the information and data that are available (WHO):

In the 1990s, there were approximately 34,000 doctors registered with the Iraqi Medical Association but, by 2005, this number was down to 18,126, with half of these in Baghdad, Basra and Ninewa governorates .

In 2006 there were 94,815 health workers, giving a ratio of 3.5 health workers to every 1,000 people. This compares to the East Mediterranean average of 4.2:1,000.

Chronic non-communicable diseases afflict many adults: hypertension 40%, diabetes 10%, overweight 34% and obesity 33% (MoH and WHO, 2006). The situation is further exacerbated by shortages of health services and drug supplies (10 out of 32 essential medicines are not regularly available).

Health statistics

State verses private health care sectorState Private1. Mostly located in the rural

areas.2. The user fees are low or free.3. Mostly used by the lower

socio-economic groups.4. The number in health sector

is reducing.5. Overcrowded with long

waiting lists, due to lower user fees.

6. Lower salaries to doctors. Hence, lack of manpower as many doctors chose to work with private hospitals.

located in the urban areas.The user fees are higher.Mostly by the higher-income groups.The number in health sector is growing. Faster provision of services due to fewer patients and more doctors.Higher salaries to doctors, thus many doctors join this sector, giving it a lot of manpower

Structure and organization of education system

Education system in Iraq is based on values and principles derived from the religious, human and national charateristics of society

Thank you for your attention