- The war in Iraq has resulted in an "alarming deterioration"
in the health of the Iraqi people that will be felt for generations, according
to a report published by medical charity Medact today.
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- The report estimates that more than 7,500 Iraqi civilians,
and at least 13,500 combatants, died between the start of hostilities and
the end of the study last month.
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- It warns of long-term effects on health caused by postwar
factors such as a lack of sanitation and disrupted hospital services.
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- Dr Sabya Farooq, the report's author, said today: "Limited
access to clean water and sanitation, as well as poverty, malnutrition,
and disruption of public services - including health services - continue
to have a negative impact on the health of the Iraqi people.
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- "The environment is littered with mines, and they
are killing humans. A lot of unexploded bomblets are continuing to injure
civilians, particularly children because they are brightly coloured."
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- She said that maimed Iraqi children would not be treated
in the same way as Ali Abbas, a child who lost both arms in a missile attack
on Baghdad. He received treatment in Kuwait and the UK following a high-profile
media campaign.
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- The report states: "The health consequences of the
2003 war on Iraq will be felt by the Iraqi people for years, even generations."
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- It also warns of particular risks for "vulnerable
groups such as women and children, the sick, disabled and elderly".
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- It concludes that "what happens to health in the
long term is dependent on restoration of security and public services,
and regeneration of the health care system".
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- In a statement accompanying the launch of the report
today, Medact said: "Because of the continuing insecurity and the
alarming deterioration in the health of Iraqi people since the war, Medact
is calling on the occupying forces and UN agencies to further investigate
the current and long-term health impacts of the war; ensure that all reconstruction
of public services, including health, is fully funded; and carry out their
obligation under the Geneva convention to maintain law and order and to
protect hospitals, health professionals and those who provide humanitarian
aid."
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- The report, which is entitled Continuing Collateral Damage:
the health and environmental costs of war on Iraq 2003, follows Medact's
initial report on the country, Collateral Damage, published in November
last year.
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- Medact said that the findings were based on a "comprehensive
independent survey assessing the health and environmental impact of the
war, carried out by an international team of authors and advisers, all
experts on health and conflict".
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2003
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1082739,00.html
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