Monday, May 20, 2013

Birth defects in Iraq

BRussells Tribunal carries an open letter to the World Health Organization and the Iraqi Ministry of Health calling for the release of a report about birth defects and cancer in Iraq:


 "All studies done by the Ministry of Health prove with damning evidence that there has been a rise in birth defects and cancers" in Iraq.
This is quoted directly from a senior official at the Iraqi Ministry of Health. This senior official was speaking on-camera during a BBC documentary, called "Born under a bad sign", which aired on March 22, 2013. During the same interview, two other Ministry of Health researchers confirmed that the situation with cancers and birth defects constitute a "big crisis" for the "next generation" of Iraqi children.
The studies they refer to are the joint project between the Iraqi Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization which began in May/June 2012. The publication of the final report, most recently scheduled for early this year, has been delayed for unknown reasons.
This large-scale study, according to the WHO website, has been conducted in the following governorates of Iraq: Baghdad (Karkh and Rasafa), Diyala, Anbar, Sulaminaiyah, Babel, Basrah, Mosul and Thi-Qar. A total of 10 800 households from 18 districts are included in this study, bringing the sample size to 600 households per district.
This yet-to-be-released study will shed light on the magnitude and trend of congenital birth defects at the selected district level. It will identify possible risk factors of congenital birth defects and it will assess the public burden of these conditions.
We, the undersigned, ask the World Health Organization and the Iraqi Ministry of Health to release this important report. Immediate release of this report will be the first step towards mobilizing global efforts to protect public health from further degradation in Iraq and in the entire region.



Though the issue has been largely ignored in the US, on the 10th anniversary, it did get some attention in the American press.  Back in March,  Sydney Lupkin (ABC News) reported on the issues and spoke with a woman who co-authored studies on birth-defects in Iraq in 2010 and last year:
Savabieasfahani and her colleagues concluded that many Iraqi babies were born with congenital heart defects, spina bifida and other deformities because their parents had high levels of lead, mercury and uranium levels in their hair, nails and teeth. They suggested that the toxins came from airborne pollutants released during the Iraq War.
"Toxic metals such as mercury (Hg) and Pb [lead] are an integral part of war ammunition and are extensively used in the making of bullets and bombs," it says in the results section of the study.


Along with speaking to ABC News, Dr. Mozhgan Savabiesfahani also penned a column for Al Jazeera last March:

 Our study in two Iraqi cities, Fallujah and Basrah, focused on congenital birth defects. In both cities, the study revealed increasing numbers of congenital birth defects, especially neural tube defects and congenital heart defects. It also revealed public contamination with two major neurotoxic metals, lead and mercury. The Iraq birth defects epidemic is, however, surfacing in the context of many more public health problems in bombarded cities. Childhood leukemia, and other types of cancers are increasing in Iraq. Childhood leukemia rates in Basra more than doubled between 1993 and 2007. In 1993, the annual rate of childhood leukemia was 2.6 per 100,000 individuals and by 2006 it had reached 12.2 per 100,000.
Multiple cancers in patients (patients with simultaneous tumors on both kidneys and in the stomach, for example), an extremely rare occurrence, have also been reported. Dr Jawad al-Ali, a cancer specialist at the Sadr Teaching Hospital in Basra, discussed the issue of multiple cancers with Der Spiegel last December. Familial cancer clusters, described as the occurrence of multiple cancers throughout an entire family, were also disclosed in that Spiegel report.  
These observations collectively suggest an extraordinary public health emergency in Iraq. Such a crisis requires urgent multifaceted international action to prevent further damage to public health.
In regards to the epidemic of birth defects alone, the recognition that congenital birth defects in Iraq are mainly folate dependent offers treatment possibilities for at-risk populations. Folate and vitamin supplementation may prove to be useful in dealing with this crisis. In addition, chelation therapy, or the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body, may be explored for appropriate candidates.
Most urgently needed is comprehensive large-scale environmental testing of the cities where cancer and birth defects are rising. Food, water, air, and soil must be tested to isolate sources of public exposure to war contaminants. This is a necessity to discover the source, extent, and types of contaminants in the area followed by appropriate remediation projects to prevent further public exposure to toxic war contaminants.


In other news about the problems Iraq is facing, Global Research notes Al-Monitor's report on the continued importing of oil into Iraq while Omar al-Shaher (Al-Monitor) reports on the devaluing of the Iraqi dinar.  Christopher Ayad (Le Monde) reports on Iraqi painter and sculptor Qasim Sabty whose gallery is near the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad and has an interior garden he likes to escape to in order to avoid the continued violence from the illegal war.

Nathalie Guibert (Le Monde) reports that France will be purchasing  drones from the US --  two Reaper drones which will have to be 'European-ized' due to the fact that the drones are illegal as is in Europe. Germany has already spent $400 million to purchase several drones from Northrop Grunman Corporation.

Barack continues to spread The Drone War around the world.  If the day comes when foreigners use drones on the US, watch for Barack to suddenly be outraged that drones are killing people.  Until then, he's content.


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