Violence against Iraqi health workers must end to win pandemic fight: Red Cross, Red Crescent
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Attacks on Iraqi health workers must end for the country to be able to fight off the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement released Sunday by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Release of the statement, which "deplores violence and acts of intimidation against health workers and urges respect for all medical personnel", comes after the organisation received “distressing reports” of threats and violence against Iraqi health workers currently battling a full-blown nationwide outbreak of the virus.
“These [violence and threats] are hampering the medical response to the ongoing COVID-19 global health emergency, for which the health services need the expertise of every available health worker, be it doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, cleaning staff, and others,” the statement reads.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has recorded numerous cases of violence and attacks on health workers stretching far further back than the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesperson for the organisation told Rudaw English.
“We have recorded and tracked several cases of violence and threats against medical workers in Iraq this year and in past years,” spokesperson Sahar Tawfeeq said, noting that more than 20,000 health workers left Iraq in 2018 alone due to threats they've received or violence they've witnessed.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has "exacerbated an already difficult situation," the statement said, as attacks show no sign of letting up.
“A week ago, some people in Basra attacked a hospital and injured the doctor, and also broke several of the hospital's machines and pieces of medical equipment,” Tawfeeq said.
Iraq's health ministry recorded 150,115 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, including 5,392 deaths. Patients, their kin and health workers alike have complained of the insufficient supplies and overcrowded facilities of an already fragile Iraqi health system.
Violence against health workers amid the pandemic was discussed at a meeting between Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, health minister Hassan al-Tamimi and the Iraqi Doctors' Syndicate on Thursday, according to a health ministry statement. Kadhimi stressed the importance of providing protection for the health workers against “repeated attacks” by patients and their families, the statement read.
A report released last month by Amnesty International found that health workers worldwide were vulnerable to stigma and attack by the public, and their grievances surrounding working during a pandemic were being silenced and ignored by governments.
Release of the statement, which "deplores violence and acts of intimidation against health workers and urges respect for all medical personnel", comes after the organisation received “distressing reports” of threats and violence against Iraqi health workers currently battling a full-blown nationwide outbreak of the virus.
“These [violence and threats] are hampering the medical response to the ongoing COVID-19 global health emergency, for which the health services need the expertise of every available health worker, be it doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, cleaning staff, and others,” the statement reads.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has recorded numerous cases of violence and attacks on health workers stretching far further back than the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesperson for the organisation told Rudaw English.
“We have recorded and tracked several cases of violence and threats against medical workers in Iraq this year and in past years,” spokesperson Sahar Tawfeeq said, noting that more than 20,000 health workers left Iraq in 2018 alone due to threats they've received or violence they've witnessed.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has "exacerbated an already difficult situation," the statement said, as attacks show no sign of letting up.
“A week ago, some people in Basra attacked a hospital and injured the doctor, and also broke several of the hospital's machines and pieces of medical equipment,” Tawfeeq said.
Iraq's health ministry recorded 150,115 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, including 5,392 deaths. Patients, their kin and health workers alike have complained of the insufficient supplies and overcrowded facilities of an already fragile Iraqi health system.
Violence against health workers amid the pandemic was discussed at a meeting between Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, health minister Hassan al-Tamimi and the Iraqi Doctors' Syndicate on Thursday, according to a health ministry statement. Kadhimi stressed the importance of providing protection for the health workers against “repeated attacks” by patients and their families, the statement read.
A report released last month by Amnesty International found that health workers worldwide were vulnerable to stigma and attack by the public, and their grievances surrounding working during a pandemic were being silenced and ignored by governments.