Unicef: Alarming Health Situation Affects Children in Iraq

The state of the health system in Iraq is alarming and only in Mosul, about 750,000 children struggle to access basic services, the UN Children''s Fund (UNICEF) warned today.

For pregnant women, newborns and children, preventable and treatable conditions can quickly become a matter of life or death, noted UNICEF Representative in that country, Peter Hawkins.

After his visit to Al Khansa hospital, the largest city in Mosul, he found that medical facilities are overloaded and there is a critical shortage of medicines.

In Nineveh's governorate, less than 10 per center of health institutions operate at full capacity and those that still provide services are on the verge of collapse, he explained. The intense violence destroyed the health facilities in Iraq, Hawkins added, more than 60 clinical establishments have been repeatedly attacked since the 2014 escalation, which interrupts their services and worsens the access of children and their families.

In order to alleviate the situation, Unicef ​​supports the work of primary care centers, has rehabilitated pediatric and nutritional rooms in two hospitals, provides medical equipment and helps in vaccination campaigns.

'As people begin to return home, it is essential that basic services such as health, education and support for children affected by violence be available,' Hawkins said.

The Children's Fund requested $ 17 million from international donors for the reconstruction of health facilities for children in Iraq in 2018.

According to the UNICEF representative in that State, the Reconstruction Conference for Iraq - organized by Kuwait and scheduled for February 12 to 14 - appears as a unique opportunity to draw attention to the situation of children and their limited access to health.