“Many war-wounded patients need follow-up care,” explains Itta Helland-Hansen, MSF’s field coordinator at the hospital.
“In Mosul, the military offensive took a staggering toll on the local health system. So, we are here to make sure that people can get healthcare and receive treatment in such challenging environment.”
The road to recovery
A few beds away from Ahed, a teenage boy called Ali is lying on his bed wide awake. Metal scaffolding surrounds his leg, but he doesn’t seem bothered by it.
The 14-year-old is furiously playing on his phone. Without taking his eyes away from the screen, he explains the purpose of the video game to the doctors that stop by his bed for their daily medical round.
In the game, Ali is parachuted onto an island and has to scavenge for weapons and equipment to kill others, while avoiding getting killed.