Covid-19 will throw the future of some Middle East states into doubt, a group of medical researchers and specialists warned at an online discussion hosted by the London School of Economics.
Looking at how regional politics continue to have a cumulative effect on health, the panellists discussed how the pandemic exacerbated existing problems in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq.
Calling the recent explosion of a hospital in Baghdad a "diagnostic event", Omar Dewachi, associate professor of medical anthropology at Rutgers University in the US, said it was emblematic of Iraq's failing health system and, by extension, the state.
“We are dealing with two very interconnected problems. The burden of disease that we're seeing in Iraq, or in Palestine, or in Lebanon, is very much linked to the failures of the political elites, but also to the collapse of these kind of infrastructures,” Mr Dewachi said.
At least 82 people were killed and 110 injured when an oxygen tank exploded at a hospital treating Covid-19 patients on the outskirts of Baghdad. There were no safety systems, fire extinguishers or sprinklers in the three-storey building, which had a false ceiling made of flammable material.
Iraq’s health system has been toiling for decades, exacerbated by 23 years of financial and trade sanctions that effectively deprived the country of vital medicine, and then the US-led invasion in 2003.
Despite many promises to rebuild the health system after the 2003–2011 US war in Iraq, Mr Dewachi, who wrote the book Ungovernable Life: Mandatory Medicine and Statecraft in Iraq, said the last public hospital to be built in the country was in 1986.
Covid-19, he said, was making an already fragile health system worse and creating a burgeoning black market for oxygen. Mr Dewachi said an increasing number of patients are developing antimicrobial resistance infections and making hospitals increasingly toxic places.
Also speaking at the online panel was Dr Weeam S Hammoudeh, assistant professor at the Institute of Community and Public Health at Birzeit University in the West Bank. She said the continued fragmentation of Palestine, coupled with the Israeli occupation and an inadequate Palestinian political system, led to a deteriorating health service that was unequipped to deal with Covid-19.
Israel restricts the entry of medicine to the West Bank and has put the Gaza Strip under a military blockade for the past 14 years, effectively draining the territory of medical supplies.
Residents need permits to exit the territory for medical treatment, which the Israeli authorities do not always grant. Despite receiving the lowest number of these applications in a decade, Israel rejected more than a third in the first half of 2020.
Dr Hammoudeh said little has been done to build a sustainable Palestinian health system.
“This was one of the things that actually has come out quite markedly in terms of the Covid-19 response, where a lot of these systemic failures have really weakened the response issues around fragmentation or the lack of sovereignty ... how we are working across parallel bodies that don't necessarily co-ordinate well with one another has really stifled the response and also just the ongoing occupation.”
Although Israel was lauded internationally for its high rate of Covid vaccine take-ups among Israelis, it was criticised for failing to provide vaccinations in the occupied Palestinian territories, despite jurists arguing that, as the occupying power, it had a duty to do so under international law.
British Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon Ghassan Abu Sittah suggested Covid-19 was hastening the fragmentation and disintegration of some Arab states.
“We see the state, in front of our eyes, failing in all of its aspects, whether it's the theft of vaccines by the Lebanese political elite, or the theft of the vaccines by the Palestine political elite, whether it's the Jordanian hospital that ran out of oxygen during the second wave or the Egyptian hospital that had the same experience,” he said.
Concluding the 90-minute session, Mr Dewachi offered an ominous forecast.
“I think the future looks very grim for the region in terms of where things are going. And I think they still haven't hit rock bottom, I think we're just now beginning to see these kind of major crises emerging under Covid.”
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Hales' batting career
Tests 11; Runs 573; 100s 0; 50s 5; Avg 27.38; Best 94
ODIs 58; Runs 1,957; 100s 5; 50s 11; Avg 36.24; Best 171
T20s 52; Runs 1,456; 100s 1; 50s 7; Avg 31.65; Best 116 not out
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Ferrari
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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Pathaan
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Salem Rashid, Mohammed Al Attas, Alhassan Saleh
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Yahya Nader, Ahmed Barman, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
EPL's youngest
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15 years, 181 days old
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15 years, 235 days old
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15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Zayed Sustainability Prize
