Iraq says 650 doctors have returned from exile

By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 28 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Some 650 of the 8,000 Iraqi physicians who fled the country since 2003 due to violence have returned to their jobs in the past two months because of improved security, a Health Ministry official said Monday.


Adel Muhsin, the ministry's inspector general, said the doctors have gone back to hospitals across Iraq.

The country's medical system is woefully understaffed because of workers fleeing, and several weeks ago the government appealed to doctors to come home.

"We expect more doctors will respond to our call," Muhsin said in a phone interview.

Killings and kidnappings of doctors during five years of war and sectarian strife led to an unprecedented exodus of medical personnel that left Iraq's already troubled health care system almost paralyzed. Medical infrastructure is poor and some medicines are in short supply.

Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, 618 medical professionals, including 132 doctors, have been slain nationwide, according to figures issued earlier this year by the Health Ministry.

Muhsin said only 16,000 health care workers are running hospitals and clinics, but 100,000 are needed.

"The return of these doctors is a positive thing because we are suffering from a severe shortage of personnel and we welcome doctors willing to their country," he said.

The security situation has dramatically improved since last year, in part because of a 2007 U.S. troop buildup, a Sunni decision to join forces with the Americans against al-Qaida and a Shiite militia cease-fire.