Fuente: © World Bank
http://www.worldbank.org

Iraq Needs Up To $8 Billion To Revive Health Sector

/noticias.info/ Iraq's neglected health system needs up to $8 billion over the next four years for reconstruction, the Deputy Health Minister said, noting that US funds have not yet made much impact, reports Agence France Presse.

The United States pledged $786 million in 2004 to build clinics, repair neglected hospitals and buy modern medical equipment. But some 25 percent of the money - which is fast running out - was spent on security, a US health official said.

Asked in an interview how much money Iraq required to restore its health care system, Ammar al-Saffar, the Health Ministry's number two said: "Over the next four years, we need $7 to $8 billion just for reconstruction. This does not include the operational budget." He warned, however, that Iraqi coffers alone were incapable of funding such an investment. "We are looking here and there for donations from the international community."

Washington alone pledged to build and equip 150 primary healthcare centers to provide basic family doctor help to people at a community level. But the number was cut to 142 because so much cash was spent on security, the US health official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. In addition, attacks and security threats have delayed the work. The clinics were all due to be finished by mid-2006 but sources on the ground say this has become an unrealistic goal, estimating that it will take at least until the end of the year if not longer.

The US is also renovating 19 of Iraq's dilapidated hospitals. Only one has been restored to date in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, but it was later damaged in an attack and is again under repair, the US official said. The rest of the hospitals are due to be finished within six to eight months. As for some $75 million earmarked for medical supplies -- such as 5,000 hospital beds, mobile X-ray vans, ventilators for intensive care units and sterilizing equipment -- the money is expected to be spent by April.

Saffar said Washington had been a generous donor. But he regretted that the money was initially contracted to US rather than Iraqi firms because he said a lot of it vanished on overheads and other administrative matters, not to mention security.The main target now is to ensure the projects are completed, said Saffar. "We have to rescue the whole of the program with limited resources," he said. The US official admitted that progress had been slow, but he pointed to a lack of continuity at the leadership level.

Both Saffar and the US official hoped the upcoming creation of Iraq's first permanent, four-year government since the fall of Saddam -- following elections last month -- would provide new stability for the health ministry. Key objectives would be to agree on short-, medium- and long-term policies to restore the health sector -- both its physical structure as well as the quality and training of nurses and doctors, said Saffar, reiterating that the ministry also needed money. notas_de_prensa_archivo