Although the United Nations sanctions imposed on Iraq in August 1990 were not intended to affect food and drug supplies, the sales embargo placed on Iraqi oil means the country does not have the foreign exchange to buy food and drugs, writes Susan Funnell in The Pharmaceutical Journal this month.
Describing visits she made to Iraq with the UK charity Medical Aid for Iraq last year, Ms Funnell says the medical supplies which Iraqi hospitals receive each month from the Ministry of Health provide only about 5% of real requirements. All drugs are in extremely short supply; some hospitals visited by MAI did not even have analgesics. Intravenous drugs are particularly lacking and frequently unavailable, while antibiotics are given in half doses and frequently changed daily, depending on what is available, and children being treated at the cancer center in Medical City, Baghdad, receive chemotherapy at half the recommended dose.
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