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US lawmakers tour Baghdad hospital
Jordan Times
Monday, September 29, 2003
BAGHDAD (AP) — Members of the US Congress toured Iraq's biggest hospital Sunday to get a first hand look at the daunting challenges facing this impoverished country as lawmakers consider US President George W. Bush's request for an additional $87 billion for the postwar effort.
Rep. Jerry Lewis, Republican-California, and seven other delegation members peered into incubators with premature babies at the maternity ward and greeted expectant mothers at the Al Yarmouk hospital in western Baghdad.
Infant mortality in Iraq is estimated at 103 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in the United States and more than double the figure for neighboring Turkey. Of every 1,000 babies born in Iraq, 122 die before their fifth birthday.
“We have been shocked by the conditions of the infrastructure in general, and this hospital is a reflection of just how bad the situation is,” Lewis said after walking through the grounds. “Those mothers have the highest priority ... so that their children can live long and healthy lives. This is the future of Iraq here.” Al Yarmouk suffered only limited damage during the war but was stripped by looters afterward. Recently, the 1,000-bed facility, attached also to a medical college, got backup electric generators working again to fill periodic gaps in city-supplied power.
According to Dr. Mahdi Jasim Moosa, the hospital director, the staff is expecting six new US-funded generators, four for the maternity ward which the lawmakers inspected.
“There has been a lot of controversy about the money needed for Iraq, but when Congress members see the conditions here, they will recognise that this money is badly needed,” said Rep. Norman Dicks, Democrat-Washington, a member of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee.
“Our intent was to liberate them from Saddam Hussein,” Dicks said. “We are here now to help our friends in Iraq improve conditions for their people. There is absolutely no question that progress has been made ... but it is a team effort.” “We would like to have the world change in the blink of an eyelid, but it takes some time,” Lewis said.
Rep. Kay Granger, Republican-Texas, said the message which the delegation would take back to Washington is that “we are going to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people” by determining what needs to be done to rebuild the country and following through with commitments.
The delegation also plans to visit Mosul and Tikrit, Saddam's hometown.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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