The Modern History of Iraq - Essay Example

Iraq Introduction Iraq is located in Western Asia. It is ranked in the world as the 58th-largest country compared to California a state in US. Iraq is mainly a desert that is near rivers Tigris and Euphrates. These two rivers make Iraq fertile. The reason I chose Iraq is that, it is between the rivers commonly referred to as the cradle of civilization and origin of law, writing and the wheel (Marr, 2011). The Northern part is mountainous. Iraq has also a small coastline 58km wide along Persian Gulf. Geography Iraq lies between longitude 39° and 49° E and latitude 29° and 38° N. It has a span of 437,072 km2. The Northern part is mountainous with the highest point being Cheekah Dar, which is 3,611m. Idaho is half its’ size. The capital city of Iraq is Baghdad other cities include; Mosul, Basrah, Kirkuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. Iraq’s terrain is characterised by broad plains, reedy marshes in the south and mountainous landscape in the north. It ismostly dry and hot since it is a desert. Population The Iraq’s total population as at April 2009 was estimated to be 31.2 million. According to Central Intelligence Agency, 75% of the Iraq population comprises of Arabs. This is followed by Kurds who are 15-20%, and while others include only 5% (Cotter, 2011). Government Iraq has a federal government that defined by the constitution as Islamic, federal, democratic, and parliamentary and republic (Cotter, 2011). This government has three branches, the executive, judiciary and legislature. The government has many independent commissions. There are areas in Iraq that has governorates apart from the federal government. Some districts have jurisdiction regarding some lawful matters. The governorates in Iraq are eighteen and are divided into districts. Iraqi Kurdistan is a region that is legally defined having quasi-official militia and its own government. In 2005, Iraq passed a new constitution by 78% majority voting in favour of it. The new constitution got greatest support from Shia and Kurdish communities (Cotter, 2011). Economy Oil is the greatest contributor to Iraq’s economy. It provides most of the foreign exchange earnings to Iraq. The economy of Iraq suffered extensive losses due to the war and lost close to US$100 billion. After the war, oil exports have tremendously increased new pipelines were constructed, and damaged facilities restored. Low oil prices, costs of construction and war debts repayments made Iraq suffer immense financial crisis (Tripp, 2007). Iraq got a debt relief that was to be implemented in two stages. These stages include two of 30% and the other 20%. Iraq has 2nd largest oil reserve in the world consisting of 143.1 billion barrels. It produces over 2.9 million barrels each day and exports over 1.7 million barrels daily. Citi group described Iraq as Global Growth Generators in Feb, 2011. It argument was that it would grow economically in the future. State of health in Iraq Iraq’s state health fluctuated during the war and the rule of Saddam Hussein. He cut the funding of public health by ninety percent and this caused declined in health care. This was when maternal mortality got higher three times than it was before. Medical personnel salaries got cut down significantly. In 1980, the medical facilities that were leading in Middle East deteriorated. Water-borne diseases and malnutrition were common in 1990s (Elliot, 1996). Conflict and war in Iraq led to the destruction of many health facilities and government main laboratories. Some hospitals were operating during the war by means of international funding. Incidences of typhoid, malaria, cholera and tuberculosis got high in 2005. In 2006, there were plans to spend US$1.5 billion on healthcare. It was in this year that HIV/AIDS cases were from blood transfusions and only 16% from sexual transmissions. AIDS Research Centre in IRAQ provides testing and free treatment. HIV/AIDS testing is a must to foreigners visiting Iraq. Currently, Iraq needs to initiate a renovation program to improve and restore hospital damaged by war and conflict. It also needs to focus on preventative health care. The health care in Iraq is still poor. Many health facilities lack medical supplies, under-equipped, overbooked and understaffed while others are still incomplete. Culture Iraq is known for maqam heritage. This got passed down to the younger generations orally by maqam masters. The chain of transmission is unbroken even in the present times. Maqam perfect and noble form is the maqam al-Iraqi. This has been known for years and is performed by Qari, a singer, while three instrumentalists play Santur, a box zither, Jawzah, a spike fiddle and Dumbek, a goblet drum. The performers may be at times joined by a tambourine (Tripp, 2007). The band that performs maqam is commonly referred as Al-Chalghi Al-Baghdadi. The assortments of poems sung are written in Iraq dialect or classic Arabic. UNESCO recognizes this form of art as “an intangible heritage of humanity”. Oud and Rebab are Iraq instruments. The music stars that played these instruments included Munir Bashir and Ahmed Mukhtar. The Iraq Turkmens folk songs are well known, the leading name being Abdurrahman Kızılay. Iraq traditional medicine consisted of various herbs and concoctions. Some of these herbs include Agropyron repens L, Allium cepa Leguminosae amongst others. The first records that detail the use of traditional medicine is found in Mesopotamia clay tablet writings and Egyptian papyrus in Baghdad (Tripp, 2007). Today, many young people, are using and getting involved in traditional medicine. Art and architecture The most predominant cultural institution in Iraq is the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra. The performances and rehearsals were interrupted during the occupation of Iraq. Iraq’s national theatre was destroyed during its invasion in 2003, but it is being restored. In 1990s Live theatre was boosted when there was limited import of foreign films by UN. Several institutions in Iraq offer cultural education. These includes institute of Fine Arts, Music Academy and the Music and Ballet School. The capital city of Iraq, Baghdad has several museums including National Museum of Iraq (Tripp, 2007). The National Museum of Iraq has the largest world’s collection of finest relics and artefacts from the ancient Iraqi civilization. Some artefacts and relics were stolen during the occupation of Iraq. Iraq Health System: Historical Background The Iraq health care system began after the First World War with the British occupation in 1918. The first Directorate of Public health services was started in 1921 then later upgraded to Ministry of Health the same year. This ministry was later annexed to the ministry of Interior. Ministry of Health was got re-established in 1952 with its organizational structure being formalised in 1959 (Elliot, 1996). Alma-Ata Declaration was signed by Iraq in 1978. It was based on strengthening Department of Preventive medicine and Primary Health care by constructing health facilities all over the country. Public Health Law got enacted in 1981. This law stated that every citizen has a right to satisfactory health and promoting health and treating diseases was the responsibility of the government (Russell, 2010). Governmental Health-Related Agencies in Iraq Government main health agency is the ministry of health. The ministry of health carries out the following functions: controlling communicable disease, establishing and managing medical facilities, ensuring there is school, maternal and child health, providing mental health services and supplying of medical supplies such as vaccines medicines and other medical supplies. Other health organizations include the world health organization, UNICEF and United Nations. In Iraq, medicals services are offered by 269 hospitals, which include public and private hospitals. There are also 308 insurance clinics, 254 pharmacies, which deal with chronic diseases drugs and 32 special pharmacies. Hospitals are managed by Directorate of Technical Affairs while outpatient care gets managed by Directorate of Public Clinics. Directorate of preventative medicine deals with preventative services and also manages health centres (Russell & Russell (1999). The doctor to the people of Iraq ratio increased since 1977. This is, however, low compared other countries. In 1977, it was at 4.7 per 10, 000. Nurses per patients were extremely low, and it increasingly dropped when foreign nurses left in 1990s. The ratio was 3.0 nurses per 10,000 patients. Two-thirds of the nurses were not trained in post high school program. Hospital beds ratio was 12 per 10,000 patients. The following are the education facilities in Iraq: Intermediate nursing schools, Secondary female nursing schools, Secondary male nursing schools, Secondary mixed nursing schools, Secondary midwifery schools, Technical institutes nursing stream, haemodialysis, coronary care, community and Nursing colleges all owned by the ministry of health. Iraqi National Nursing Association was established to ensure nurses get better pay and are working under favourable conditions. Health Priorities of Iraq Mental health care is a priority in Iraq this is after Dr Khudair Abbas found out that there are only two mental hospitals in Iraq. Dr Khudair Abbas had started on reconstruction of destroyed health systems. He found out that the mental hospitals had poor conditions that led to mental patients to escape. Reconstruction of destroyed hospitals during the war is also a priority in Iraq (Russell, 2010). Before the war, hospitals were structured and had an organization structure that collapsed during the war. Nongovernmental organizations such as United Nations, Red Cross and World health Organization, is trying to help Iraq to improve it health facilities. This is by offering medical care and funding to the Iraq federal Government so as to finance the construction of medical facilities. The Iraq government is staffing its hospitals by hiring more medical personnel (Russell, 2010). Nursing implications Iraq should focus on nursing and the education of nurses so achieve health care reforms. Nurses should be equipped with skills to improve health care delivery. Home care should also be the focus of Iraq. Nursing policies should be implemented to ensure nurses work under proper conditions, and patients get appropriate medical care. The nursing education system should be designed to practical learning approaches (Russell, 2010). Conclusion Iraq is the cradle of civilization being the origin of law, writing and the wheel. It is rich in culture and heritage. The war in Iraq caused the downfall of infrastructure. The government needs to revive infrastructure especially in the health sector. The economy of Iraq is expected to grow tremendously in the future. This is if the government improves the current state of the country and enacts laws that heed development. References Elliot, M. (1996). Independent Iraq: The Monarchy and British Influence, 1941-58. London: I.B.Tauris. Tripp, C. (2007). A history of Iraq. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Said, W. (1979). Orientalism.  New York: Vintage Books. Russell, B. (2010). The Middle East and South Asia. Ranson: Stryker-post Publishers. Cotter, V. (2011). Middle East Patterns: Places, Peoples, and Politics. Colorado: West view Press. Marr, P. (2011). The Modern History of Iraq. Colorado :West view Press. Russell, C. & Russell, W (1999). Population Crises and Population Cycles. London: Galton Institute. Read More