Friday, July 27, 2007
Statistics on the surge and quality of life in Iraq
Security, Infrastructure
(BBC) - An extra 30,000 US troops have been deployed in Iraq, mainly in and around the capital Baghdad, since the launch of the security drive, or "surge", in February. The BBC World Service is monitoring its effects, week by week, by looking at casualty figures, the pressure on hospitals and quality of life for ordinary civilians. The graphics and analysis are based on figures from the US and Iraqi authorities, Baghdad's hospitals and three families from different neighbourhoods in the capital.
Labels: electricity, hospitals, Iraq, security, statistics
Friday, February 16, 2007
$50 million hospital for Hilla
Reconstruction
(Azzaman) Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has laid the foundation for a $50 million hospital for the city of Hilla, 90 kilometers south of Baghdad. The 400-bed hospital will be built by Iraqi contractors is expected to be ready in two years. The nearly 65,000 square meters allocated for the hospital will include several annexes among them residential units, gardens and car parks. Meantime, Maliki has allowed the University of Babel in Hilla to add a former army camp to its campus. The university is to build a hostels for its students there as well as a veterinary college.
Labels: al-Maliki, Hilla, hospitals
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Hospitals not safe
Security
(IRIN) Iraqi troops, US-led coalition forces and insurgents are all guilty of breaking Geneva conventions that govern the neutrality of hospitals, say health specialists. The increasing risk of being shot or arrested in a hospital in Iraq is preventing ordinary citizens from seeking medical attention.
"The Geneva convention states that a hospital is and should remain neutral and accessible to everybody, particularly civilians. Yet, when it's occupied by armed groups or official forces, people would not have this free and humanitarian access," said Cedric Turlan, information officer for the NGO Coordinating Committee in Iraq (NCCI). Turlan said that hospitals are getting caught in the midst of violent clashes between insurgents and US or Iraqi troops, and between Sunni and Shia militias. In the course of these battles, ambulances are sometimes destroyed or confiscated and entire hospitals, particularly in the restive Anbar province, are taken over by a particular armed group - whether official or non-official.
The Geneva convention states that a hospital is and should remain neutral and accessible to everybody, particularly civilians. This is deterring patients from seeking medical help in hospitals and is making the provision of health care an almost impossible task, say specialists.
The Geneva convention states that a hospital is and should remain neutral and accessible to everybody, particularly civilians. This is deterring patients from seeking medical help in hospitals and is making the provision of health care an almost impossible task, say specialists.
Labels: hospitals
