In the Houston Chronicle, Karen Laub discusses the slow return of Iraqi doctors following the rapid exile and brain drain of medical expertise in that war-torn nation. One has to wonder what it will take to get the physicians who left for the safety of Britain or other nations to return to a country still in turmoil and lacking resources.
Does the US have an obligation to help the Iraqis get either its own nationals or physicians from other nations to come to heal the literal wounds of this ravaged nation? I think so. Healthcare is just one part of any nation’s infrastructure, and key to its getting back on its feet. So if Iraqis won’t come back on their own (and who could blame them?), it may be the obligation of other nations to come to their aid to ensure enough doctors are there to care for the Iraqi people.
Summer Johnson, PhD