Sharing Oxygen, Red Crescent Society Hospital in Baghdad
When I give public talks about the Iraq War, and try to describe the collapse of the country’s infrastructure, this image is the one that seems to draw the most visceral reaction. The idea of having to share your oxygen mask. Passing it back and forth.
People gasp when they see it. Cover their face with their hands.
Not only does it illustrate the paucity of resources in Iraq’s healthcare system ... it’s dangerous. The technical term for bugs picked up in hospitals is anosocomial infection. In the U.S. (and I think it’s fair to say “in most developed nations”) it’s a serious concern, partly because it’s potential grounds for a malpractice suit (in addition to the fact that healthcare providers really don’t want to make you sicker than you were when you came in).
According to the United Nations (specifically, a report titled The Situation of Children in Iraq: 2002), Iraq had the most progressive healthcare system in the Middle East, prior to the implementation of the Sanctions Program, enforced by the U.N. Security Council from 1991-2003 (sanctions ended with the U.S. invasion—but the deprivation didn’t).