More than two thirds of the doctors in Iraq have either been killed since the American-led invasion in 2003, or have left the country, according to a report by an Iraqi think tank.
Around 70 percent of the remaining health workers do not have sufficient experience in the medical field to cope with the deteriorating security situation, the Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies said.
The study was based on data from the Health Ministry, doctors and pharmacists unions, local and international human rights organizations, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, collected over the past 18 months, according to the London-based Al-Quds Al-‘Arabi.
The organization also accumulated reports from within Iraq and outside the country indicating that the sectarian violence and armed groups supported by neighboring countries are responsible for assassinating and forcing out doctors, in order to empty Iraq of its medical and scientific resources.
Several months ago, health officials in Iraq admitted that many doctors had been kidnapped from their offices and released in exchange for sums ranging between $1,000 and $10,000.