Shafaq News- Al-Anbar

Al-Anbar Province faces a potential “health catastrophe” after the Finance Ministry halted financial allocations for more than a year, according to documents published by Health Department Director General on Monday.

Khudair Khalaf Shallal urged the Provincial Council to convene an urgent session, adding that he had formally addressed both the Al-Anbar governor and the Health Minister to secure emergency funding. “The situation threatens the continued operation of hospitals and medical centers, while the crisis affected the supply of medicines, medical equipment, fuel, food services, cleaning, and sterilization, and most ambulances have become inoperable, placing residents’ lives at direct risk,” he said.

In September, Iraq ranked 79th globally and 12th in the Arab world in the 2025 Healthcare Index, scoring 70.73 points for medical infrastructure and professional capacity, 52.88 points for medicine availability and affordability, and 64.43 points for government readiness.

Iraq’s healthcare system faces strain from population growth and long-standing structural gaps, as the country has fewer than 1.4 doctors per 1,000 people, below the World Health Organization benchmark of 2.3, while hospital bed density stands at about 1.3 beds per 1,000 people, compared with a regional average of nearly two.

Read more: Iraq’s healthcare system nears collapse: Doctors leave, hospitals overflow