The Foreign Service Journal, December 2004

Hope, the World Medical Association, the British Medical Association, the American Medical Associa- tion, the American College of Surgeons and various medical specialty societies. The meeting participants shared updates on Iraq and assessed progress in bringing about the vision of organized medicine in Iraq and developing liaison rela- tionships with specialty colleagues in this wartorn country. The new U.S. embassy in Baghdad and appointment of a health attaché will help facilitate con- tacts for medical outreach initiatives. Participants dis- cussed “what works and what doesn’t,” with an empha- sis on the importance of continuing the contact. There was a strong feeling among the physicians that they needed to let the Iraqi doctors know that they haven’t been forgotten. Yank Coble, M.D., president-elect of the World Medical Association and past president of the American Medical Association, summed up the feelings of many: “The physicians in Iraq are making heroic efforts under extraordinary circumstances. They are inspiring.” Among future plans discussed are medical confer- ences at facilities being developed in Baghdad and in the Kurdish area in the north. Additionally, Project Hope is leading development of a children’s hospital in Iraq, which will be a significant, tangible sign of health- care progress. It will also be a venue for international medical volunteers to work directly with their Iraqi counterparts. When asked whether the Iraqi Medical Specialty Forum is a good model for diplomacy that could be replicated in other countries, the response from Dr. Gibbons, a key forum organizer now back at his ortho- pedic surgery practice in Iowa, was unequivocal: “Absolutely.” “Medicine is our bond,” says Bernard Alpert, M.D., a San Francisco plastic surgeon who traveled to Baghdad and participated in the forum. “Our shared profession binds us in a manner that transcends politics, religion and geography. Medicine is a currency of peace.” F O C U S 36 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 4