Iraq mortality after the 2003 war: A significant public health emergency

Part of a series of articles written in collaboration with Emma Lugenbill

Geneva — A recent Iraqi mortality study, in the British medical journal The Lancet, estimates that as of July 2006, an ‘excess deaths’ of nearly 655,000 is attributed to the 40 months post-invasion of Iraq. This is according to an updated estimate of an October 2004 reported Iraqi excess mortality of 98,000. The study carried out by a joint US-Iraqi team.

If not for the war and of the occupation the report estimates that the death of 2.5% of the Iraqi population would not have occurred. In light of dismissal of Iraqi suffering and the neglect of their right to life with dignity, the Iraqi death toll estimate is now more than twice the rate prior to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Under international humanitarian standards, the situation in Iraq amounts to a significant public health emergency.

The Lancet study commented, “a doubling of the baseline mortality rate, which by the Sphere standards constitutes a humanitarian emergency.” The Sphere standards of humanitarian relief were initiated from the Sphere project in 1997. The project was launched by international humanitarian organizations as a means of identifying standards for disaster relief and assistance, and also as a means of increasing accountability within all humanitarian responses. Under the Sphere standards of humanitarian relief and other international standards, the Lancet defines the situation in Iraq as a significant public health emergency.

Despite the implication limits to the Sphere standards such as the ’absence of reasonable security’ in Iraq or the ’extent to which humanitarian agencies have access’ to the affected Iraqi population, fulfillment of the Iraqi ’right to life with dignity’ should be beyond mere statements. Humanitarian agencies’ ability should not be over-rule the ’most immediate goal of humanitarian relief’, the prevention of excess mortality, as stated by Les Roberts, co-author of the latest Lancet report and Francesco Checchi in a paper in September 2005.

follow-ups...

added on Dec. 12, 2006

— Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, among those who are bound to the Sphere, e.g. ICRC and IFRC, on the same day as the release of the Lancet report was in Geneva. Despite the fact that he mentioned that the situation in Iraq is "spiraled totally out of control", declined any comment on the Lancet, and even was surprised by the report. Later OCHA was also asked to comment on the Egeland’s underestimation of the humanitarian situation in Iraq, but OCHA’s spokesperson declined that it was an underestimation as he almost addressed the situation in Iraq.

— In Oct. 2006, IFRC released "Operations Update no. 4" of "Iraq: Humanitarian Emergency", which focused on "the health sector of the emergency response" but barely mentioned the mortality issue. (http://www.ifrc.org/where/country/cn6.asp?iYear=0&xFlag=2&countryid=87&view=1)

— In late Nov. 2006, ICRC report that they have never withdrawn from Iraq, and proclaimed the ICRC’s efforts to assist and protect Iraqi civilians. Not later, for 2007, Jakob Kellenberger, the president of the ICRC, also considered Iraq as the organization’s four main priorities.

— On Dec. 11, 2006 in Congress Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul addressed on Humanitarian Situation in Iraq in presence of the Lancet co-authors.