Health workers decry lack of medical supplies

Doctors in Anbar governorate, particularly those in the city of Ramadi some 100km west of the capital, are urging the government to tackle the issue of the lack of medicines and essential surgical materials available in local hospitals. “Most of our patients are being sent to the capital because we don’t have enough supplies to proceed with surgical operations,” complained Dr Ala’a Rabia’a of the Ramadi General Hospital. According to Rabia’a, hospitals in neighbouring cities too, including Fallujah and al-Qaim, are suffering similar shortages. “We have enough staff to help patients, but this is useless since we don’t have enough material,” Rabia’a explained. “We need supplies urgently to meet the needs of all hospitals and clinics in the area.” The doctor went on to explain that Ramadi General Hospital was particularly in need of emergency materials such as syringes, pain killers, plasters, antibiotics and anaesthetics. “Local NGOs sometimes send us supplies, but most of them aren’t appropriate to our needs,” Rabia’a stressed. According to officials at the Ministry of Health, the ministry has been monitoring the requirements of hospitals countrywide and is planning to establish a special commission to investigate reported deficiencies. “According to our records, hospitals have been supplied with medicines,” said senior health ministry official Ahmed Salahdinne. “If [supplies] haven’t reached the hospitals, this may indicate corruption.” Last week, a convoy laden with medicines and surgical materials, sent to Ramadi by a local NGO, was ambushed en route from the capital. All medical supplies were reportedly stolen. Incidents of theft like these, says Rabia’a, only serve to aggravate an already desperate situation. “People are sick, especially from the bad potable water in the area,” he said. “Many have cases of diarrhoea and there are no drugs for it. Urgent measures must be taken.”