Iraq studies the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on reproductive health services

Shafaq News / The Iraqi Ministry of Planning announced, on Wednesday, the start of empirical study for to find the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on reproductive health services in Iraq and Kurdistan.

The ministry said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, "Specialized medical and statistical cadres set out today, Wednesday, to carry out a rapid survey to study the impact of the Corona pandemic on reproductive health services in Iraq."

The statement added that data collection is taking place from 107 health centers and 10 hospitals in the governorates of Baghdad, Erbil, Basra, Najaf, and Saladin, with the participation of 27 doctors and 16 statisticians,” saying that, “The field work will continue for two weeks. "

It indicated that "a higher committee from the Statistics Department, the Ministry of Health, and a number of specialists supervises the work," noting that "the aforementioned work receives technical and financial support from the United Nations Population Fund / Iraq Office."

According to the statement, the head of the Central Bureau of Statistics, Diaa Awad Kadhim, stated that “the aim of this study is to investigate the impact of the Corona pandemic on the staff working in the field of reproductive health and on the services provided in this field,” adding that “ to find the Conditions to ensure the sustainability of the service and to create protective conditions to protect this important sector."

For her part, the Director of the United Nations Population Fund / Iraq Office, Rita Colombia, expressed her “pleasure in being able to prepare for this great work and start implementing it with direct support from the Fund in providing technical advice, and in securing field and office work requirements.”

It is noteworthy that the field work for this study will end on this September 22, and the Iraqi Association for Statistical Sciences will contribute to preparing the final report of the survey, which is expected to be launched early November of this year.