Mr. Nechirvan Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, opened yesterday July 20, 2009 Media Center for lab. investigation. The Prime Minister, described launching the center as a historic move and highly praised the role of the private sector in the progress of health care services in Kurdistan. Media is a world-class medical investigation center that is as the Prime Minster said is one of its kind in the whole Middle East.
This move is a disastrous step toward destroying the health care system of Kurdistan.
First, the financing and funding of this particular project raises a number of question marks about the use of public money for private aims and profits. The Prime Minister provided the land and an open budget for this project. There are un-confirmed accounts about the personal involvement of the Prime Minister in this project by being a partner. In the disastrous political situation of Kurdisan which is mired by corruption, fraud and a veil of misinformation behind which the financing of most projects are underwent, it should not be a surprise that this project too can be used for personal gains.
Second, The involvement of the private sector in such a crucial sector of the society as health and in particular secondary health care services is a prescription for disaster. While it is understandable that the private sector and open market mechanism can and should be used to promote competition and innovation for tertiary health care, the same move will produce disaster in primary and secondary health care arena. But the profit oriented mentality of the political leadership of Kurdistan is basing such a move on the premise that the most needed services would produce the largest profit.
While the people of Kurdisan are dying from Cholera and infants are dying from simple diarrhea, the profit minded political leadership is trying to improve its image through launching luxurious institutions and expensive clinics and investigation centers that are not accessible to the vast majority of people who the most in need for those services.
Privatization is not and will not be the panacea for all the problems that are crippling health care in Kurdistan. The use of open market mechanisms should be considered through careful planning and serious deliberation about the priorities of the system based on the needs of the ordinary people of Kurdistan.
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The use of public funds to develop private clinics, hospitals and labs is outrageous, and fundamentally flawed from moral, socioeconomic and political perspectives. Privatization of health and basic infrastructure without the proper regulatory governance framework is a recipe for disaster - many countries are still reeling from the World Bank's structural adjustment strategies of previous decades.
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The Prime Minister's office needs less advice from vested interests (who coincidentally own private for-profit specialized hospitals and clinics in Kurdistan), and more input from experts in public health, primary care and health system governance - who are genuinely interested in improving the health of the population.