Shafaq News-Kirkuk

Resident doctors from the 2024 cohort in Kirkuk province suspended work on Thursday, demanding inclusion in the 2027 budget, payment of their outstanding dues, and other employment rights.

In a statement, the doctors urged the Health Ministry and other authorities to honor their commitments and address concerns over job security and working conditions.

Their demands also include opening applications for post-rotation incentive posts and reimbursing amounts deducted from several contracted doctors at the Kirkuk Health Directorate.

The doctors further called for applications for the 2025 cohort to open and for its members to be appointed in 2027, allowing them to continue working under Iraq’s medical training law. They also sought fewer working days and better conditions reflecting the demands of their jobs.

Urging fellow physicians and healthcare workers to support their demands, the doctors said protecting physicians’ rights and job stability would strengthen the healthcare system.

Similar protests have taken place across Iraq in recent months, as hundreds of medical and health graduates rallied outside the Ministry of Finance in Baghdad and in Nineveh province over delays in appointing graduates from the 2024 medical cohort and the failure to issue separation and professional distribution orders.

Iraq’s healthcare system is already under severe strain, with fewer than 1.4 doctors and about 1.3 hospital beds per 1,000 people, well below World Health Organization benchmarks. Bed occupancy in major hospitals often exceeds 90%, according to government data and health sector indicators.

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