Kirkuk, 10 October, Dr Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative in Iraq reaffirmed the support of WHO to the Government of Iraq in overcoming the cholera outbreak and said, “A group of public health experts are working hand in hand with the Ministry of Health to combat the outbreak and save lives", and added, “WHO praises the efforts of the Government in managing the outbreak before its spread.
During his meeting with Governor of Kirkuk Dr Najmedin Karim, Dr Hussain discussed with Dr Karim the proposed causes of the outbreak and reflected on the actions to be undertaken in order to prevent future outbreaks.
He affirmed the need to invest more in Kirkuk to develop various health-related areas, such as: nursing and midwifery; reproductive health services, particularly improving delivery rooms, treatment abroad for specialized health care, rational use of medicines and biomedical devices, the imbalance of staffing in rural versus urban settings and better financing for primary and prevention care.