A self-rule test at Iraq ministry

From the look of its freshly renovated offices, and on paper, Iraq's Ministry of Health appears to be the successful poster child for US plans to hand back control of Iraq to Iraqis.

Salaries for health workers have increased and hospitals are being refurbished. A sign inside the ministry prohibits weapons on the "ministerial level" where the top brass have their offices; it's backed up by squads of Rambo-like Western security guards.

The question facing Iraq's freshly reformed ministries is whether the upward trend of improvements - spurred by huge infusions of cash, expertise, and US-driven reorganization - can outpace continued insecurity and a culture of corruption.

"There are a lot of obstacles," says Saad al-Amily, director of the health minister's office, where five phones sit on the desk, CNN plays on a large screen, and an air conditioner yields a deep freeze.

"The ministry was in a miserable situation before the war, then it was looted," he adds. "That was the real struggle till now."

On March 28, this Iraqi ministry became the first to be granted full control by US authorities, who celebrated its turnaround after "more than 30 years of neglect and isolation." Ministers now have control of eight of Iraq's 25 ministries, with more being transferred each week as officials gear up for the June 30 handover of sovereignty.

Health officials like to weigh their spending today against that of Saddam Hussein, whose 2002 health budget of $16 million for 25 million Iraqis amounted to just 64 cents per person. The 2004 budget is $948 million, with an additional $793 million coming directly from the US - all told, a 100-fold increase.

The influx is making a difference at the Al Kadhimiya Teaching Hospital in northwest Baghdad, where large projects are focused on revamping a steam-pipe system critical to sterilization, improving sewer networks, and installing new boilers.

Some $3.5 million has been set aside for the projects, due to begin in a couple of months. The health ministry is spending more than $30,000 per month for maintenance at this facility alone. Monthly salaries have shot from $5 to between $200 and $500.

"We have hope, but slowly," says hospital director Qais Abdulwahab. "Money is key."

Jalal Abed Ali, a doctor at Al Kadhimiya, says he is optimistic, though he has yet to see much improvement. "I have a feeling inside that things are in the right hands, but it needs time," he says. "Germany took two years to reunify. Iraq needs more than that, because of physical and psychological damage."

During the Hussein era, he says, guards used to burn medical supplies, deliberately keeping national stocks low to highlight the negative aspects of UN sanctions. Storekeepers kept drugs until well past their expiry date.

"Rome wasn't built in a day, and you can't take a Baath system with a lot of corruption and fix it in a day," says David Tarantino, a US medical adviser to the ministry. "[Iraqis] have become more optimistic, and are increasingly energized."

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