High infant mortality rate a symptom of the ills of Iraqi health system

[Judi Lynn]

High infant mortality rate a symptom of the ills of Iraqi health system
By Mark Sherman, Associated Press, 3/2/2004 07:31



BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) An Iraqi woman gave birth to a boy at the Elwiyah Maternity Teaching Hospital the other day in a complicated Caesarean delivery that left the baby with a good chance of infection. Yet doctors did not prescribe available antibiotics, standard practice in the United States.

''So they'll wait until the baby crashes,'' said Dr. Craig Vanderwagen, the chief medical officer of the U.S. Indian Health Service who has been advising the provisional Iraqi health ministry.

One in 10 children dies before turning a year old in an Iraqi health care system in disarray after years of neglect, last year's war and the looting that followed it. The infant mortality rate is comparable to those of the poorest countries in Africa.

U.S. and Iraqi health officials who toured children's health facilities in recent days say simple measures, including basic hygiene, can help cut that rate in half within two years. At the end of the visit, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said conditions would improve ''if they just washed their hands and cleaned the crap off the walls.''
(snip/...)

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/062/world/High_infant_mortality_rate_a_s:.shtml

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A new low for the _Bush regime.

[JackDragna]

1. There's that forward-thinking Republicanism for you.

Remember, they're conservative and compasimitated. Compassionated. Compassionate. Right! There's the word. Maybe, gee, I dunno, we could have, I dunno, made some provisions to improve the Iraqi health care system when we got there? Oh, ho, silly liberal me. It's much more important to have thick concrete walls and Burger Kings in the "Green Zone."

If I could bite members of our government, I would.

[markses]

2. Unbelievable lack of historical context

Before the implementation of the sanctions regime, Iraq had the best infant mortality rate in the Middle east outside of Israel.

Tommy Thompson is a racist.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. I confess I'm very confused by this spin.

Before we invaded Iraq the second time, people who were against the sanctions we imposed after the first Iraq invasion, pointed out to the high mortality rate and used it as an indication that the sanctions were hurting Iraqi children. The counter-response to that was that Sadaam was not using the humanitarian aid & money he did receive to help his people because he was amassing an arsenal of weapons.

But now, post Iraq invasion, Where Are The Weapons? That only leaves two possibilities:

1) That the arguement that the sanctions were hurting the children of Iraq is true; or

2) That Sadaam was funneling the money to some bank in a neutral country.

Does anybody have information to reinforce either theory?

[Ilsa]

3. Gee, for the longest time over the last year,

they had no clean running water, no electricity to run machines which might help clean and vacuum. I guess crap keeps getting on the walls from all those pesky explosions.

Thompson should be ashamed of himself.

[MountainLaurel]

4. What a scumbag!

:nuke: