Iraq
A conflict-affected country in the Eastern Mediterranean Region's lower development cluster, which shows where palliative care stands when conflict and fragmented financing coincide.
7 domains reviewed · 7 high-confidence · 2 dated estimates · 9 material gaps
WHO region: Eastern Mediterranean. World Bank income group: Income group not yet retrieved.
- Domains reviewed
- 7 of 9
- Hospice: 0 of 4
- Backed by a primary document
- 0 of 9
- Open questions
- 13
- Sources behind this dossier
- 6
- Newest source 2024Thin evidence
Lessons from Iraq
- Recognising only specialists trained abroad left Iraq with a handful of them. An accredited in-country credential is the step Iraq has not taken.49
- With no budget line and private, out-of-pocket payment, progress probably starts with a public line.49
- Distance alone led some patients to refuse treatment at the one cancer centre studied. Outreach matters as much as a central service.129
- When conflict pushes cancer care across borders, families finance it by selling homes and drawing on extended networks, so cost information and financial counseling belong in treatment planning.460
Palliative care
Is morphine available in Iraq?
Opioid supply. Is a therapeutic opioid physically available in the wards that need it? Every country on this question
Iraq was not among the regional countries reporting oral and injectable morphine consistently available.49
What is national consumption, and is oral morphine stocked at facility level in federal Iraq and in the Kurdistan Region?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow does Iraq regulate opioids for pain?
Narcotics regulation. What licensing regime governs stocking and dispensing, and when did it last change? Every country on this question
No national palliative care strategy was reported in the regional survey.49
Which statute governs opioid licensing and dispensing, and does the Kurdistan Region's ministry apply its own rules?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWho can prescribe morphine in Iraq?
Prescriber authority. Who is legally allowed to prescribe, and can that group be widened? Every country on this question
Who may prescribe oral morphine, and under what conditions?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow does palliative care reach patients in Iraq?
Service delivery. Through what structure does care actually reach a patient at home? Every country on this question
- 19 daysSOURCE-CHECKED · 2015 DATA
Mean wait from referral to palliative radiotherapy, Sulaimani, Iraq, 2015129
Last checked 2026-09-24.
One centre in the Kurdistan Region.
Cite this figure:
The regional survey places Iraq in the lower development cluster with Iran, Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan, and among the territories facing added suffering from conflict. At one Kurdistan cancer centre, patients living far from it refused treatment.49,129
Who pays for palliative care in Iraq?
Financing. Who pays for the drug, the visit and the workforce? Every country on this question
Where palliative care is funded, it comes from private insurance and direct payment to health centres or NGOs, not a national budget line.49
Does the public system provide palliative care or opioids free of charge?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow are palliative care clinicians trained in Iraq?
Training and recognition. What credential exists, who awards it, and does anyone recognize it? Every country on this question
- 3 specialistsSOURCE-CHECKED · 2020 DATA
Palliative medicine specialists recognised, all trained abroad, Iraq, 202049
Last checked 2026-09-24.
Cite this figure:
Palliative medicine is recognised only when the specialisation was completed abroad. There is no in-country specialty programme.49
Has the Iraqi Board of Medical Specializations created a palliative track?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow does Iraq prevent opioid misuse without blocking pain relief?
Opioid safeguards. How are misuse and diversion controlled, and are treatment and naloxone available, without blocking pain relief? Every country on this question
A 2024 survey of 300 community pharmacists found no national prescription monitoring system and limited treatment for people who misuse medicines. Moderate-weak opioids were among the prescription drugs most often suspected of misuse (11.3%), and pharmacists most often limited access by saying the medicine was unavailable.640
Does Iraq offer methadone or buprenorphine treatment or naloxone, and how do narcotics rules affect morphine access for cancer patients?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow do children get palliative care in Iraq?
Children's palliative care. How do children with life-limiting conditions get palliative care and the medicines they need? Every country on this question
Are there dedicated pediatric palliative care services in Iraq, such as at the Children's Welfare Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, and are oral morphine formulations for children available?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHospice care in Iraq
How the hospice model works here, who can use it, who pays and who it reaches. Covered 0 of 4.
What does hospice care look like in Iraq?
Hospice model. What does hospice mean here, who runs it, and in what settings? Every country on this question
PubMed returned no Iraq-specific hospice source. Do any hospice or home end-of-life services exist in Iraq or the Kurdistan Region, and who runs them?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWho can get hospice care in Iraq?
Hospice eligibility. Who can enter hospice, on what criteria, and how late do patients arrive? Every country on this question
No source found. What criteria, if any, govern entry to end-of-life care in Iraqi oncology centers?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWho pays for hospice care in Iraq?
Hospice funding. Who pays for hospice care: a public benefit, insurance, charity or families? Every country on this question
No source found. Who pays for end-of-life care in Iraq (public hospitals, NGOs, families)?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow many people reach hospice in Iraq?
Hospice reach. How many dying people use hospice, and who is left out? Every country on this question
No source found. Where do Iraqi cancer patients die, and is any end-of-life service available outside Baghdad and Erbil?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWhat fills the gap in Iraq
How people get care outside formal services: families, faith communities, volunteers, health workers, healers, other medicines and charity. Described, not scored.
- Family caregiving
At one Baghdad children's hospital, 72% of caregivers of children with leukaemia met the study threshold for depression, with higher rates among younger caregivers and with longer illness and frequent admissions.462
Single-site evidence- Charity, religious giving and mutual aid
Iraqi patients who travel to Lebanon for cancer care fund it by drawing on extended networks (43 of 60), selling possessions and homes (18 of 60 sold homes), donations and debt. Conflict-related hospital destruction, specialist exodus and treatment shortages push families toward private and cross-border care paid out of pocket.460,461
Mixed scope
Sources cited here
- 49Sanchez-Cardenas MA, Pourghazian N, Garralda E, et al.
Palliative care in the Eastern Mediterranean: comparative analysis using specific indicators. BMC Palliative Care 2022;21:168. DOI 10.1186/s12904-022-01047-7. Expert survey of 12 EMR countries, including Iran, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Pakistan. Iran and Jordan are among the countries reported to have a national palliative care strategy, a designated Ministry of Health officer for palliative care and palliative care recognised as a subspecialty; recognition years are not given. Full text read.
- 129Gendari AH, Ameen HA, Ramzi ZS, Amin AF, Mohammed SA, Majeed SS, et al.
Geriatric radiotherapy in a war-torn country: experience from Iraq. Journal of Geriatric Oncology 2018;9(4):346-351. DOI 10.1016/j.jgo.2018.03.006. Abstract read. Records of older patients at the only radiotherapy centre in Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, in 2015: share treated with palliative intent, wait from referral to palliative treatment, and refusals among patients living far from the centre.
- 640Shammah JB, Scott J, Wazaify M.
Prescription and nonprescription drug misuse and abuse in community pharmacies in Iraq: a cross-sectional survey. Int J Pharm Pract 2024;32(6):461-469. Online survey of 300 community pharmacists (2020 to 2021) on suspected medicine misuse and how pharmacists respond; self-selected sample. Abstract read.
- 462Lutfi NM, Al Lami F
Prevalence and determinants of depression among caregivers of children with leukaemia in Iraq. East Mediterr Health J 2019;25(6):385-393. Cross-sectional survey of caregivers of 250 children with leukaemia at one Baghdad teaching hospital; convenience sample. Abstract read.
- 460Skelton M, Alameddine R, Saifi O, et al.
High-Cost Cancer Treatment Across Borders in Conflict Zones: Experience of Iraqi Patients in Lebanon. JCO Glob Oncol 2020;6:59-66. Interviews with 60 Iraqi patients and caregivers at one Beirut tertiary center describing how families fund conflict-driven cross-border cancer care; single receiving hospital. Full text read.
- 461Mohsin K, Mula-Hussain L, Gilson R
HealthCare Access Barrier (HCAB) framework for the barriers to cancer care during conflicts: perspective from Iraq. BMJ Oncol 2024;3(1):e000252. Scoping review of financial, structural and cognitive barriers to cancer care across four decades of conflict in Iraq, including out-of-pocket and cross-border costs. Full text read.