March 4, 2003	Tuesday	Zul Hijjah 30, 1423

BAGHDAD, March 3: With many Iraqis still dying from the effects of the 1991 Gulf War, the country faces a major health disaster if a new war erupts, a top United Nations health official said on Monday.

“If there is war, it will be catastrophic for the people of Iraq. We have a very fragile health system with a very vulnerable population,” Ghulam R.Popal, World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Iraq, told Reuters.

“The health system is stretched to the limit. It cannot tolerate any further damage or any further expansion of its services. We believe that if there is war it will have dire humanitarian consequences,” he said in an interview.

He said the devastating, US-led Gulf War in 1991 and 12 years of debilitating post-war sanctions had wrecked Iraq’s health system and sparked an outbreak of contagious diseases among its 25 million people.

Infant mortality was already 108 per 1,000, and 131 per 1,000 for children under five who die from malnutrition, Popal said. Maternal mortality rose to 294 per 1,000.

“The health system has not recovered from the impact of Gulf War and the imposition of sanctions,” he added.

DISEASES BACK IN FORCE: He said many diseases that had been eliminated in Iraq before 1990 reemerged in force, such as malaria, cholera, tuberculosis, hepatitis, typhoid, cholera, polio, respiratory infections and diabetes. He attributed the outbreaks to acute malnutrition, breakdown of water treatment facilities and poor sanitation.

Back in 1991, wealth generated by a booming oil economy meant Iraqis were healthy and equipped to cope with the repercussions of a conflict — but not now, Popal said.

He said hospitals, which until 1991 were the best in the Middle East and matched European standards, would not be able to handle war casualties because of lack of modern equipment and shortage of medical supplies.—Reuters