Morbidity and mortality among families in Iraq

The Lancet  19 January 2008

How unfortunate that comment on the Iraq Family Health Survey (IFHS) Report, released by WHO on Jan 9, has sparked such a heated and distracting debate on estimates of civilian mortality. The shocking figure of 151 000 violent deaths between March, 2003, and June, 2006, is of the same order of magnitude as a previous figure and serves to confirm that far too many civilians have been killed during the US-led occupation. The sooner this fact is accepted, the sooner the crucial issue of rebuilding the shattered lives that lie behind such numbers can begin.