In Qaraqosh, Fraternity in Iraq helps reopen the hospital

In Qaraqosh, Fraternity in Iraq helps reopen the hospital

ACTION – Thanks to your donations, Fraternity in Iraq has financed the reopening of the Qaraqosh Hospital ER and a delivery room at the maternity ward. Essential infrastructure for the return of the families in the big Christian town of the Niniveh Plain.

It was a priority. In the days that followed the eviction of ISIS from Qaraqosh, Fraterniy in Iraq got mobilised to allow for the reopening of the Emergency Room of the city’s hospital, plundered and ransacked by the jihadists. That difficult task has been facilitated by the close contacts that have been tied and maintained with the hospital management since 2011.

Hence, from late 2016 the NGO financed the equipment and material necessary to the ER’s functioning: centrifuge, microscopes, power supply, beds, diagnosis equipment, as well as the complete sterilisation of the Operation Room. Thanks to your donations, we have also financed the transportation of the generator provided by the Iraqi government, which allowed for an even earlier reopening of the hospital.

The OR, completely sterilized thanks to your donations !

The emergency room, entirely refurbished !

Al-Hamdaniya Hospital in Qaraqosh used to reach out across the whole Niniveh Plain. Patients would come from Mossul or even Erbil to benefit from the top-quality care provided by highly qualified staff. Indeed, since its reopening, the emergency service has quickly filled up. It welcomed throughout the beginning of 2017 the many wounded of the battle of Mosul. As of today, it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and an average of 140 people come each day for various injuries and pathologies.

Ten times fewer than before ISIS, however: « With 1000 to 1500 patients a day, the hospital was always crowded, » says Dr Alaa, director of the hospital. There were nearly 550 employees before 2014. Though about 30% of among them have emigrated, the others for the most part live and work in Erbil and gradually return to Qaraqosh.

The rest area…

…and the new delivery room at the maternity ward !

A maternity and a first baby in Qaraqosh !

Seeing that many Christian families were resettling in Qaraqosh, the director of the hospital asked Fraternity in Iraq to help with the rehabilitation of the maternity ward, which includes a consultation room, a work room, a delivery room, and a room for newborns. The association has financed the equipment of the delivery room, and the repair of an incubator for premature babies. What a joy to learn the birth of a baby in early October thanks to Dr Suhair, an experienced gynaecologist and friend of Fraternity in Iraq for several years! Since then, 20 have been born, as so many signs of the rebirth of the city and of the victory of life over death and destruction !

Thanks to your donations, it was possible to get the hospital back into service as quickly as possible. Special thanks to the readers of Pèlerin magazine whose mobilisation allowed for the reopening of the emergency service! Much remains to be done, help Fraternity in Iraq to fund a dental service for this hospital !

                                                                                          
Fraternity in Iraq