1. IRAQ MINISTER OF HEALTH ENDORSES HEALTHCARE SUMMIT:
PHARMACEUTICALS ARE TOP PRIORITY FOR COUNTRY
Ministry of Health Iraq reaffirms country’s commitment to development of pharmaceutical
sector. More than 26 percent of healthcare budget allocated for pharma.
Baghdad, January 20th–In the past five years Iraq’s pharmaceutical sector has grown 61percent,
with US$1.2 billion spent on drugs in 2012 alone. Given the lack of essential drugs available
throughout the country, spend is expected to increase to US$1.5 billion in 2013.
With plans to import more than 1,000 types of multi-purpose drugs, the Ministry of Health in
Iraq has been pushing for the development of the healthcare system and has dedicated 26.6
percentof the country’s public healthcare spending budget for this sector.
The Head of the Department of Pharmacy,JamilaZgayeirLatfa, will present Iraq’s pharmaceutical
roadmap and strategyat the Iraq Health Summit on March 10th and 11th in Erbil.
The initiative is endorsed by HE Dr MajeedHamad Amin, Minister of Health of Iraq. In addition
to inaugurating the platform, he is addressing an audience of more than 150 Iraqi healthcare
officials.
The summit will also be attended by officials from KIMADIA—thestate-run authority
responsible for the import and distribution of pharmaceutical and medical equipment for all
healthcare facilities in the country. KIMADIA Director General, Dr IhsanJaffer Ahmed, will
contribute to the conversation in the capacity of a speaker and panel discussion moderator.
The two-day platform is being hosted and organised by French business information group
naseba, and is the first healthcare summit in Iraq produced by an international company and
endorsed by the Ministry of Health.
One of its goalsis to connect the country’s healthcare leaders with international companies who
have the necessary expertise. Among the many international companies present at the summit
are GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Merck Sharp &Dohme.
“The patronage of HE Dr Amin ensures the Iraq Health Summit is aligned with the goals of the
country. Through this relationship, we want to help re-establish the position of Iraq’s
healthcare system as a leader in the region. Improving the pharmaceutical sector is one of the
key steps being taken by the Ministry of Health,” explained Fabien Faure, naseba Healthcare
Series Director.
