New health facility opens to treat Mosul's war-wounded

Society: Mosul's war-wounded will be able to receive surgery and rehabilitation at a new facility opened by Doctors Without Borders.

Society

2 min read

The New Arab

03 April, 2018

Mosul's ruined health infrastructure left war-wounded with nowhere to turn [Getty]

Two years under Islamic State rule and a devastating conflict to rid the city of its militants left Mosul, once renowned for its outstanding education and healthcare, in ruins.

Nine hospitals were destroyed in the fight to liberate Iraq's second city, leaving just a few hundred beds in crumbling buildings to receive its war-wounded and traumatised residents.

While violence has somewhat subsided and shops and schools get back to business, less than 10 percent of health facilities in the Nineveh governorate, of which Mosul is the capital, are functioning at full capacity. Those that are operational are stretched to breaking point.

Now medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, hopes to provide the urgently-needed care for people who survived the suicide attacks and air strikes.

On Tuesday it opened the doors to a new post-operative care facility in the east of the city.

Located at the al-Salaam and al-Shifaa hospital complex, the unit includes a mobile operating theatre, a 33-bed in-patient ward where people can recover from surgery, mental health services and a rehabilitation unit, which will be run in partnership with Humanity & Inclusion (HI), a charity working with disabled people in situations of poverty and conflict.


	The unit has a 33-bed in-patient ward [MSF]

"Mosul had one of the best healthcare systems in Iraq. But the conflict took a staggering toll on health infrastructure, medical personnel and equipment," said Heman Nagarathnam, MSF Head of Mission in the country.

"There used to be more than 3,500 beds available in Mosul's hospitals. But nine hospitals were completely destroyed in the fighting and now there are less than 1,000 beds available. As a result, people in Mosul often struggle to access healthcare.


	After the war, Mosul lost more than 2,000 hospital beds [MSF]

"Many war-wounded patients need follow-up care. They often received hasty surgery on or behind the frontlines to save their lives, and now they need additional surgery, pain management and physiotherapy to regain use of damaged limbs and muscles and to prevent losing more or all of their movement," said Nagarathnam.

A team of 30 Iraqi and international medical experts will provide free surgeries, post-operative care and rehabilitation, working closely with the al-Salaam hospitals and Ninewa Directorate of Health to refer the patients most in need.