Saturday, February 21, 2009

IRAQ: Doctors in Hiding Treat as They Can

By Dahr Jamail

"BAGHDAD, Feb 21 (IPS) - Seventy percent of Iraq's doctors are reported to have fled the war-torn country in the face of death threats and kidnappings. Those who remain live in fear, often in conditions close to house arrest......

In the absence of the doctors who left, particularly of senior doctors, the medical system is on the brink of collapse. It is short not just of doctors but also of other qualified staff, equipment and drugs. Patients are often forced to buy their own medicines on the black market......"

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