Interview with Ihsan Ali, Human Development Trainer: Interviewed by Aras Ahmed Mhamad AAM: What’s your definition of Human Development? What is the importance of Human Development for the overall physical and psychological well-being of a person? Ihsan Ali: “Human Development” as a term or concept can be used for any activity or effort aiming at…
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Category Archives: Health
The importance of Family Medicine
By Chra Abdulla: Have you ever needed to take a vaccine, get a prescription for the flu, or even wanted to discuss your depression with someone? Well, a family physician is your best option. The main problem that many people face in Kurdistan is in having to deal with so many different doctors and queue…
A tale of two health systems
By Chra Abdulla: Many people complain about the healthcare system in Kurdistan and how it needs to become like the west, but have you ever sat down and actually compared the two? I am going to try my best to give you a glimpse of what Kurdish and Australian hospitals are like through a fictional…
‘It’s time to come back and contribute to the health service here’: Professor Anwar Sheikha
Exclusive Interview (part 1) by Harem Karem: The renowned Professor Anwar Sheikha has done more than anyone to improve the quality of cancer care in the Kurdistan Region. HK: Could you give us a brief account about your professional background as a haematologist and oncologist? AS: Let me start by thanking the Kurdistan Tribune for arranging this…
Kurds honour the life of Dr Rizgar Amin, human rights activist
KT News: Kurds will today gather in London to honour the life of Dr Rizgar Amin, the dedicated psychiatrist, champion of women’s rights and ambassador for Kurds who died last month. Details: Saturday 25th May, 16.00-18.30 The Adelaide Suite London Marriott Hotel Regents Park, 128 King Henry’s Road London, NW3 3ST Tel: 0207 722 7711 Bookmark…
Scandal of the 400-bed hospital in Sulaimani
By Dr. Goran Abdulla: The role of international actors in derailing the Kurdish transition to democracy: The case of the 400-bed hospital in Sulaimani The scandal of the 400-bed hospital in Sulaimani is an example of the deleterious role that international actors may play in derailing the transition of a developing country to democracy. In…
Outdated medicine blinds elderly patients in Erbil
By Mufid Abdulla: A row is raging between the health minister, Dr Rekawt Hama Rashid, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over the use of outdated medicines by an Erbil hospital which has blinded around 30 patients. The expired medicine was brought to the Kurdistan Region by a Turkish businessman who supplied it to a…
Weight gain and weight loss difficulties: the Set-Point Theory (part 2)
By Kanya Said: Many of us try to lose weight but we find it very hard. We often lose some weight at the beginning. After that, we get very tired and we give in to the food offered, especially in the Kurdish culture where it is considered rude for a guest to say ‘no’ when…
Weight gain and weight loss difficulties (Part 1)
By Kanya Said: With the new year starting not long ago a lot of people have now started to work on their “New Year Resolution” list and its most common promise: to lose weight. Most of us have some excess weight that puts us in the overweight class in standards of BMI and it would…
The dose makes the poison
By Tablo Mohammad: According to World Health Organization (WHO): “Pharmacetical products (more commonly known as medicines or drugs) are fundamental components of both modern and traditional medicine. It is essential that such products are safe, effective and of good quality, and are prescribed and used rationally” . With these few lines is clear that different factors…
A ‘Manual of Medicine’ for every Kurdish home
By Kanya Said: Very often, when I listen to doctors practicing in Kurdistan, I get complaints about how much work they have to do and how the stress affects their work. The hospitals are overloaded and there aren’t enough doctors to give patients the proper help they need. When entering a hospital one can see…
Tropic of Cancer II: the condemned zone
By Dr F R Hilmi: Cast your mind back to 2003 when the mini nuclear bombs were being dropped in concentrations over the area now called the Green Zone. Remember the mushroom-clouds rising above the area producing a spectacle of fire, booms and showers of debris all over Baghdad. Those were not explosions caused by…
Medical Ethics II
By Amina Shadab and Tara Fatehi: Whenever you read about South Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), people will tell you about two things: The corruption within the government and the overwhelming, booming economy. With many western and Middle Eastern, multi-million dollar businesses investing in Kurdistan, it is being labeled the next Dubai. It…
Medical ethics in Kurdistan
By Amina Shadab and Tara Fatehi: Anyone working in the healthcare sector should have a clear understanding of ethics and the part they play in medical diagnosis. 80 per cent of good medical practice derives from the ethics used which will then, in essence, lead to good patient care. Unfortunately, the quality of patient care…
The lethal dangers of passive smoking
By Amina Shadab: Passive smoking is commonly understood as inhaling second hand smoke (SHS) from an active smoker. However, there is another type of passive smoking, through the environment, called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). The focus of this article is on the implications of passive smoking for pregnant women and their babies in Kurdistan. Since 1988…
