The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies hosted a public symposium on May 20-21, 2008, to bring together representatives of U.S. and Iraqi government agencies and international organizations that have been working to reconstruct Iraq's healthcare system.

The Iraq Health Symposium: "Toward a Surge in Health Services" was co-sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Embassy of Iraq.

The meeting addressed topics including accomplishments over the past few years, lessons learned from this process, and strategies for future improvements. Attendees discussed improvements in Iraqi healthcare, financing for the Iraqi health system, inter-ministerial cooperation, mental health issues, and collaborative efforts between Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the academic and private sectors. Talks incorporated experiences and perspectives from the Iraqi Ministers of Health and Higher Education as well as from the Iraqi Ambassador to the U. S. Among the U.S. federal agencies participating were the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Defense (DoD), and State (U.S. Embassy in Iraq). Representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, and various NGOs provided additional perspectives.

>>The full proceedings of the two-day event can be viewed as a PDF download on the Department of Defense website.

Featured symposium speakers included:

• Dr. S. Ward Casscells, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) H.E.
• Samir Sumaida'ie, Iraq Ambassador to the U.S. H.E.
• Dr. Salih Al-Hasnawi, Minister of Health, Iraq
• Tevi D. Troy, Deputy Secretary, Health and Human Services
• Dr. Zryan Yones, Kurdish Regional Government
• Dr. Naeema Al Gasseer, WHO Country Representative for Iraq
• Dr. Akiko Maeda, World Bank
• Dr. Steven Jones, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
• Dr. Bruno Himmler, Health Attache, US Embassy, Iraq Dr. Rabih Torbay
• Dr. Hadi Al-Khalili, Iraqi Embassy, Cultural Attache International Medical Corps
• Dr. Mahmud Thamer, Johns Hopkins University

With introductions by:

• Dr. Ralph Cicerone, President, National Academy of Sciences