Iraqi parliament approves bill to create health graduate employment fund

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's parliament has unanimously approved a bill establishing a Sustainable Health Development Fund to finance the employment of medical and health graduates from 2023, 2024 and 2025, as well as future cohorts. The proposal is designed to create a permanent financing mechanism for hiring new graduates and reduce the burden on the general budget, according to Health Committee member Geyd Raad al-Kilabi. Al-Kilabi said the bill has been referred to the Federal Service Council and would draw on multiple funding sources rather than relying on the traditional operating budget. The council confirmed the proposal is workable but requires additional regulations and government steps before it can be fully implemented, he added. The legislation has been sent to the Finance Ministry, the Health Ministry and parliament's Finance Committee for further review. Al-Kilabi described the fund as the start of a new legal and administrative process aimed at overcoming the employment barriers facing Iraq's large pool of medical and health graduates. No further details on a timeline for the next review were immediately available.