ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Health Ministry on Sunday denied allegations that medical waste from its facilities is discharged into Tigris River, prompting Environment Minister Srwa Abdulwahid to accuse the ministry of evading responsibility for pollution threatening public health.
In a statement, Health Ministry spokesperson Saif al-Badr said wastewater from health facilities undergoes treatment through approved systems, rejecting allegations that the ministry’s institutions discharged medical waste into rivers.
The ministry also dismissed claims that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, could spread through contaminated water or fish, stressing that such transmission is scientifically unfounded.
The dispute comes amid mounting concerns over pollution in the Tigris, one of Iraq’s main sources of water, which supplies millions of people and supports agriculture as the country faces worsening water scarcity. Environmental groups have repeatedly warned that hospital waste is among the pollutants entering the river.
Responding to the Health Ministry on X, Abdulwahid questioned whether its officials had listened to her interview or relied on what she described as “yellow journalism (tabloid journalism)” and an organized campaign.
“I will not remain silent as the lives of Iraqis are endangered by polluting water and air,” she said, adding that her ministry would pursue legal action against those responsible, regardless of their positions.
“Instead of justifying things, trading media accusations and evading responsibility, I advise [them] to address the shortcomings and protect citizens from the dangers of the situation,” she added.
In an interview with Iraqi TV Channel Dijlah TV on Thursday, Abdulwahid identified Baghdad Municipality, provincial authorities and sewage departments as major contributors to water pollution, alongside the health, Oil and Electricity ministries.
She also warned about the discharge of untreated medical waste into the Tigris, including waste containing blood from hospital patients.
In a separate statement on Sunday, the Environment Ministry clarified that the minister’s warnings concerned environment and public health risks of untreated hospital waste, not the transmission of HIV through fish or water.
The ministry said some media reports had inaccurately linked Abdulwahid’s remarks to the possibility of contracting HIV by eating fish.
It stressed that HIV cannot be transmitted through fish, drinking water or food, while maintaining that untreated medical waste and contaminated wastewater pose serious environmental and health risks.
The Health Ministry, meanwhile, said wastewater from its institutions passes through the main sewage network to treatment plants in Baghdad and other provinces, including the Rustamiya plant serving Baghdad’s Medical City.
It clarified that the T1 wastewater treatment plant near Medical City in Baghdad’s Bab al-Muadham area belongs to Baghdad Municipality, not the Health Ministry.
Although the plant discharges water into the Tigris, the ministry insisted that wastewater from its institutions is not directed there.
“Let us rely on scientific facts and official documents when addressing health-related issues,’ the health ministry said, warning against circulating inaccurate information that could cause public concern.
In August, the Iraq Green Observatory environmental group told Rudaw that more than 500 sources were discharging industrial waste, medical waste and untreated wastewater directly or indirectly into the Tigris across five provinces.
Abdulwahid has previously warned that approximately six million cubic meters of wastewater are discharged into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers daily, including around 1.5 million cubic meters in Baghdad alone.
