Iraq: Scores of Iraqi doctors took to the streets of Baghdad yesterday to protest against the deteriorating health system and the under-secretary appointed by US officials as the new head of the health ministry.
The US civil administration last week appointed Mr Ali Shinan, under-secretary under the government of deposed President Saddam Hussein, as head of the ministry. "Ali Shinan . . . is a hypocrite, he is not the right man for the post," Dr Ihab Sami, a resident doctor at al-Shaheed Adnan Hospital, said. "No one loves him, he was one of the worst people at the ministry." Dr Sami said the protesters represented the majority of doctors in Iraq.
The Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance had planned a news conference on the health ministry appointments for today, but has postponed it for two days, without giving a reason.
About 200 doctors from 25 hospitals in Baghdad and the provinces chanted: "No more corruption" and "We want a healthy health system" during the protest outside the Palestine Hotel in central Baghdad.
Wearing white robes, the doctors carried banners reading "No to former administration" and "We demand the swift installation of a freely elected Iraqi government."
"We do not want the demonstration to look like a strike, so not all the doctors took part in it. It's a peaceful rally to demand our rights," Dr Sami said.
Hospitals in Baghdad, hit by power cuts and shortages of medical supplies, were badly affected by lawlessness after Saddam's fall on April 9th. Delays in bringing in international aid have also hampered the work of doctors in a country already suffering under mismanagement and 13 years of trade sanctions.
"The new ministry is made up of the old corrupted figures who had an effective role in damaging the health system," said Dr Amadudin al-Suaidi. "It is unacceptable and unreasonable to deal with those figures again. It was not only Saddam Hussein who was responsible for corruption, but all the senior officials."
The demonstrators demanded the dismissal of all the health ministry under-secretaries and directors and improvements in resident doctors' living standards.
Newly qualified doctors in Iraq earned 20,000 to 40,000 Iraqi dinars ($10-$20) a month under the previous government.- (Reuters)