The middle east can be geographically described as a transcontinental area that includes countries from Northern Africa, like Egypt, and Libya, and countries from Western Asia, like Israel, Palestine, U. A. E., Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Oman, and Turkey.
More than 400 million people dwell in the land of the middle east. The countries from the middle east with the largest population are Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The countries with the smallest populations are Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Lebanon.
In this article, we are going to take a look at middle east healthcare. Keep reading to know more about middle east healthcare.
Middle East Healthcare
The intense dichotomy between the various environments all across the middle east has led the patients in the middle east to travel around the region for medical assistance and help as many nations in the middle east as they are not equipped with the best healthcare system, like in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, while the healthcare system in other middle eastern countries, like that of U. A. E., Ira, Israel, and Turkey have flourished, are successful and well funded. They have become extremely important medical centers and patients from all over the region as well as the whole world travel to these countries for medical treatments and assistance.
Let us take a closer look at the middle east healthcare system of three of these countries.
Healthcare System in Iraq
The healthcare structure of Iraq has been one of the most prestigious healthcare systems across the region of the middle east during the 1970s. However, due to circumstances like those of terrorism and war, the budget for medical and the healthcare system has been cut by 90 percent.
After the fallout of Saddam Hussein, more than 15,000 doctors from Iraq left the country in search of better and more stable job opportunities. Many released public statements from the Iraqi health officials have shown that there is more than 40 percent of the medicines are smuggled in the country from other nations like China, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, India, etc. These medicines are substandard drugs and branded products that comply with the applicable legislation.
Healthcare System in Egypt
The Egyptian healthcare structure is a combination of both public and private healthcare systems. A subsidized healthcare system has been created by the government of Egypt to ensure that healthcare is accessible to everyone including the people who cannot afford it. As everywhere, in Egypt as well, the private health care system is superior to the public healthcare system and is usually the first choice among Egyptians, even amongst the people from the lowest income groups.
Healthcare System in Syria
The healthcare system of Syria is usually affected by the civil wars that keep happening in the country and more than half of the total hospitals in the country have been destroyed or deteriorated due to the lack of spare parts, and maintenance of the medical equipment. Due to political sanctions, the Syrian healthcare system is often running out of drugs and other medical supplies.