Location: Iraq - Dohuk, Erbil, Kirkuk, Sulaymanieh, Ninewa, Tamim, Diyala, Bagdad, and long term Kerbala governorates

Situation:

The violence against civilian populations continues, with a resurgence in attacks since the American withdrawal in June. Although the Kurdish region has seen apparent prosperity, tensions with the central  government mean that the future is uncertain. Despite the efforts of the authorities and Iraqi NGOs, our key partners, access to essential services, particularly primary healthcare, remains limited.

Activities:

Doctors of the World (DOW) is building capacity for health workers in three areas of work. Firstly, training in prehospital emergency care, developed in collaboration with Qatar's Hamad medical centre, for emergency services' medical assistants and ambulance workers in six  governorates. In relation to mother and child health, DoW is working with the Iraqi NGO Fuad to train community midwives in Kirkuk, Diyala and Bagdad governorates. Finally, in Kerbala  governorate, DOW is  helping to integrate mental health into primary healthcare by developing a pilot programme training care workers in 10 main health centres. The team, which regularly works in northern Iraq from Amman, has also had an office in Baghdad since 2009. As a  result of the project 18 medical assistants from six  governorates are participating in the training for trainers in  prehospital care.

Outlook:

DOW is looking to re-establish a permanent presence in Iraq to be able to respond better to the primary care needs and to support health actors involved in Iraqi civil society, including Iraqi NGOs. This project will be rolled out to different regions, representative of  different communities, to ensure that the programme remains  impartial.