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Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Public Health

Going to War with the Coronavirus and Maintaining the State of Resistance in Iran
Fig. 1. “Doctors and Nurses! Your reward is with God.” Source: Office of Supreme Leader.Fig. 1. “Health Defenders.” Source: Student News Network.Fig. 2. “The Sacrifice Continues.” Source: Navid Shahed Gilan.Fig. 3. “The Nation’s heroes are always in the field,” original design and postage stamp. Source: Tehran Times.Fig. 4. “War, work until victory.” Source: Yanon Design.Fig. 5. A war medic and health care professional collapsed into one figure. The slogan reads, “The holy warriors of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” Source: Office of Supreme LeaderFig. 6. Source: Public Relations Office of Dezful Governorate.Fig. 6. “The trench is the same trench, the people are the same people.”Fig. 7. “Like Avini.” Source: Office of Supreme Leader.
Covid-19 Coverage

Going to War with the Coronavirus and Maintaining the State of Resistance in Iran

The Iranian government is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic not only with travel restrictions and social distancing rules, but also with ideological tools that promote unity and resistance. Through the production of posters and other media, Iran is creating connections between earlier battle
Kevin L. Schwartz, Olmo Gölz • 15 min read
Palestinian Workers in Israel Caught Between Indispensable and Disposable
Palestinian workers at a construction site in the Israeli settlement of Ramat Givat Zeev, Israeli-occupied West Bank, March 19, 2020. Ammar Awad/Reuters
Covid-19 Coverage

Palestinian Workers in Israel Caught Between Indispensable and Disposable

While people around the world are under lockdown, Palestinian workers in Israel continue to labor in the now accelerated construction sector. While Israel's project of control and expansion exploits their labor, Palestinians are put at greater risk without proper testing, accommodations or healthcar
Lucy Garbett • 10 min read
The Challenges of a Public Health Approach to COVID-19 Amid Crises in Lebanon
Protesters demonstrate in their cars against the worsening economic crisis, amid a countrywide lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Beirut, Lebanon April 21, 2020. Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
Covid-19 Coverage

The Challenges of a Public Health Approach to COVID-19 Amid Crises in Lebanon

Lebanon's highly privatized system of health care is presenting challenges to implementing a public health approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the country already suffering from multiple political and economic crises, containment of the coronavirus has been more effective than expected. But seri
Jocelyn DeJong • 11 min read
Voices from the Middle East: On the Frontlines of Inequality in Turkey During COVID-19
A municipal worker checks a man’s temperature as the spread of COVID-19 continues, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, April 9, 2020. Sertac Kayar/Reuters
Covid-19 Coverage

Voices from the Middle East: On the Frontlines of Inequality in Turkey During COVID-19

Pharmacists in Turkey, like the author's parents, are working overtime to serve their communities and to adapt quickly to shifting government orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. While steps are being taken to mitigate the impact of the virus on the most vulnerable, various forms of inequality entre
Berra Can • 7 min read
Voices from the Middle East: Doctors, COVID-19 Patients and Dilemmas of Treatment under Sanctions in Iran
Emergency medical staff and nurses wearing protective suits, transfer a patient with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tehran, Iran, March 30, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via Reuters
Covid-19 Coverage

Voices from the Middle East: Doctors, COVID-19 Patients and Dilemmas of Treatment under Sanctions in Iran

Caring for COVID-19 patients without the proper equipment and medicine is difficult anywhere. In Iran it is especially devastating to know that lives are being lost due to US sanctions. Two pediatricians at provincial hospitals in Iran describe their experiences.
Sima Shakhsari • 5 min read
Voices from the Middle East: COVID-19 Threatens Disaster in Blockaded Gaza
Due to the threat of COVID-19, a girl wears a protective N95 mask as she sweeps outside her home in Gaza City on March 22, 2020. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty
Covid-19 Coverage

Voices from the Middle East: COVID-19 Threatens Disaster in Blockaded Gaza

Gaza's health system has been severely weakened by 13 years of Israeli land, sea and air blockade. With 2 million residents and not enough hospital beds, protective equipment and other essentials, the arrival of COVID-19 could spell disaster. Danya Qato gets the details of Gaza's dire situation and
Salam Khashan, Danya Qato • 9 min read
Voices from the Middle East: US Sanctions on Iran Devastate the Health Sector
Iranians buy protective masks in a drug store to prevent contracting the coronavirus disease COVID-19, in Tehran, Iran February 20, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Nazanin Tabatabaee/Reuters
Covid-19 Coverage

Voices from the Middle East: US Sanctions on Iran Devastate the Health Sector

US sanctions against Iran, along with Iranian government policies, have created insurmountable obstacles for domestic drug manufacturers who are struggling to provide people with the health care they need, especially now as COVID-19 ravages Iran. An Iranian pharmaceutical company employee explains w
Kaveh Ehsani • 4 min read
From the Archive: Iraqibacter and the Pathologies of Intervention
Men sweep debris from a damaged pharmacy, located near the site of Wednesday's car bomb attack, in the city of Hilla
Current Analysis

From the Archive: Iraqibacter and the Pathologies of Intervention

As Iraq now confronts the arrival of COVID-19, its war-damaged medical infrastructure and degraded environment will make it harder to combat the virus. In 2019, Omar Dewachi explained how these same conditions transformed innocuous bacteria into dangerous drug-resistant strains.
Omar Dewachi • 14 min read