Budget shortfall threatens healthcare services in Kurdistan Region’s Al-Sulaymaniyah

Shafaq News– Al-Sulaymaniyah

The budget allocated to the healthcare sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq remains limited and far below what is needed to provide adequate medical services to residents, a senior official noted on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference, the Director General of Health Department in Al-Sulaymaniyah, Sabah Hawrami, pointed out that population growth and a steady rise in patient numbers have increased pressure on health services, stressing that failure to boost funding would push the sector “inevitably toward a worse situation.”

He also said that the situation is forcing many residents to seek treatment in private facilities, increasing the financial burden on households.

This was not the first time the directorate warned of budget shortfalls, Hawrami added, recalling that health centers and hospitals in Al-Sulaymaniyah faced shortages of medicines and medical supplies last year due to funding constraints, a crisis that authorities managed only temporarily.

Last October, Kurdistan Region Health Minister Saman Barzanji revealed that the Region receives less than half of its actual medical supply needs, forcing the Kurdish government to spend about 7 billion dinars ($5.3 million) monthly to cover essential medicines for public hospitals, in addition to separate funding for cardiac and cancer treatment centers. Citing delays in federal contracts and weak cash flow as persistent challenges, he indicated that the ministry holds discussions with Baghdad to revise the Region’s share of medicines and equipment.