Iraq Tackles Health Care Reform
Iraq is considering a new health-care initiative in the face of criticism that only half of the current budget is received by the Ministry of Health, writes Omar al-Shaher.
The Iraqi Ministry of Health is engaged in a study regarding the possibility of enacting a health care law, which is supposed to be the cornerstone of Iraq's plan to improve the level of health services provided by medical institutions and to provide a new source of funding.
Iraq allocates an estimated $5 billion annually to cover the needs of the health sector, whose infrastructure is limited.
The ministry said it formed three specialized committees that are working on putting in place the primary structure for a health care draft law in the country, before it is debated by the legislative institution.
Ministry spokesman Ziad Tariq said that the first committee is charged with studying the health systems of various countries, and looking at how Iraq's draft law could benefit from their experiences. The second committee is studying the Iraqi health system and identifying its major needs, while the third committee is dealing with financial matters related to the application of this law.
