Years of armed conflict in Iraq has wounded or killed thousands of people, often as the frontline moves through their neighbourhood. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, forced to flee their homes in search of safety.
“We are seeing every kind of war injury you can imagine – multiple gunshot wounds, blast injuries and severe burns. We are trying our best to deal with the medical effects of a high-intensity urban war unleashed on a trapped population.”
- Jonathan Whittall, Field Coordinator, Médecins Sans Frontières field trauma hospital, south of Mosul.
As well as the countless number of people directly wounded by the conflict, the severe disruption to the healthcare system has left many others unable to access desperately needed medical care, including people with life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, or pregnant women in need of emergency caesareans.
Médecins Sans Frontières provides emergency and basic medical care in Iraq, including trauma care, mother and child care and malnutrition treatment.