May 25, 2021
Following remarks from Iraqi President Barham Salih, who admitted on Sunday that Iraq has lost $150 billion since 2003 to corruption, a new international project launched on Monday aims to curb embezzlement and bolster transparency in Iraq’s public sector.
The 15 million-euro ($18.3 million) initiative, led by the United Nations Development Program Iraq in partnership with the European Union Mission in Iraq, was designed to support Iraqi institutions and enable Iraqi civil society to play a more active role in identifying and fighting corruption.
“Combating corruption requires a joint and unified effort from the Iraqi government, state institutions and the Iraqi society,” said the Ambassador of the European Union Mission to Iraq Martin Hutt in a release.
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A view of muslims after Eid al-Fitr prayer, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Amr Ibn El-Aas mosque in Cairo, Egypt May 13, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Muslim worshippers are silhouetted while celebrating in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque before the morning of Eid al-Fitr holiday, early on May 13, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
2/4 An oysterman drags a tray of adult Uglie oysters from Maine to awaiting oyster boats at Great Bay, Monday, May 3, 2021, in Durham, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Vehicles transit by a flooded street due to heavy rains in Xalapa, Veracruz state, Mexico, 12 May 2021. EPA/Angel Hernandez
Statement by Ambassador Byrne Nason at UNSC Briefing on the Situation in Iraq
Statement 11 May 2021
Thank you very much indeed Mr. President and I want to Jeanine, the SRSG, for her really insightful briefing this morning. Thank you Jeanine. Also, I want to welcome the representative of Iraq amongst us today.
I would like to begin by extending our deepest condolences to the people of Iraq following the tragic fire at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in April. This was a terrible tragedy, and it came at a time when we know the Iraqi people are facing devastating effects of COVID-19. Our thoughts and our prayers are certainly with the families of the victims and of all those affected by the tragedy.
Iraqi Health Minister Resigns After 130 Killed in Hospital Fire
5 May 2021
Iraqi Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi resigned Tuesday, saying he had a “moral obligation” to do so and a need to preserve “my career path, my family, and professional history” after a fire at the Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad on April 24 killed about 130 people.
The Iraqi government officially believes 82 people died in the hospital fire, but the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights put the death toll at 130 or more. Another 110 people were injured, according to the Interior Ministry.
The fire appears to have started after some oxygen tanks exploded. Most of the dead and injured were coronavirus patients. Ibn al-Khatib hospital, located in one of the poorest districts in Baghdad, did not have smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, or even fire hoses. The head of the Iraqi civil defense forces ruefully observed that the ceilings in the intensive care ward were made of flammable materials
Follow RT on Iraqi health minister Hassan al-Tamimi has formally resigned from the government over a deadly fire that took the lives of 82 people after an oxygen tank exploded at a Baghdad hospital that was treating Covid patients.
The resignation comes days after Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi suspended al-Tamimi from his cabinet position pending an investigation into the cause of – and the response to – the April 24 fire at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital.
Iraq’s health system has long struggled to meet medical demands in the country, even before the Covid pandemic, as conflict, international sanctions and domestic corruption have led to the sector being neglected and to necessary improvements being ignored.