Iraq

On August 19, two attacks in Baghdad killed 95 people and wounded nearly 600. These two particularly deadly attacks were a startling reminder of the violence borne by the Iraqi people since the start of the war.

Amman, August 7, 2009—More than 100 wounded patients have been assisted in the aftermath of a large bomb blast on the outskirts of the city of Mosul in northern Iraq today, said the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Despite ongoing conflict that has made it difficult for humanitarian organizations to be in Iraq, since 2006 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has set up medical projects for populations in Anbar, Tameen, Ninewa, Sulemaniya, Baghdad, and Basra. MSF also runs a project in Jordan for Iraqi war wounded. Khalil Sayyad recently returned from Basra, southern Iraq, where he worked as Field Coordinator for nine months. He was part of MSF's first international team to establish a presence in Iraq since 2004, when high insecurity led MSF to leave country.

One of the greatest challenges facing independent humanitarian action today is that of reaching civilians caught in war and armed conflicts. Nowhere is this more frustratingly illustrated than in Iraq, where MSF has struggled to gain a meaningful foothold since the US-led invasion of 2003. Various military and political actors have sought to use and abuse humanitarian action for political purposes and in doing so have made humanitarian organizations a target for violent attacks. This has undermined the ability of MSF, and other neutral humanitarian organizations to address critical needs of the civilian population.

Massive forced civilian displacements, violence, and unmet medical needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, and Pakistan, along with neglected medical emergencies in Myanmar and Zimbabwe, are some of the worst humanitarian and medical emergencies in the world, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported today in its annual list of the “Top Ten” humanitarian crises.

On May 29, around 11 a.m., a bomb targeting a military recruitment center surrounded by civilian locations exploded in the town of Sinjar, Ninawa Governorate, in Northern Iraq causing at least 16 deaths and a high number of wounded, among them many civilians. Sixty patients have so far been received in the local hospital which, as most medical structures in Iraq, faces a dire lack of medical material and qualified staff.

Following violent clashes in Baghdad, Basra, Babel, and neighboring provinces, an influx of wounded patients has flooded hospitals in those areas. Medical facilities are experiencing shortages of the materiel and medicines required to treat emergency patients.

MSF has begun providing essential medicines and medical supplies to a number of hospitals inside Iraq; yet, the Amman-based surgical program–staffed largely by Iraqi surgeons–is the organization's most direct attempt at aiding Iraqis since the organization was forced to withdraw its staff from Iraq in November 2004 in the wake of the deteriorating security situation there.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) opened its project in Jordan on August 5. Head of mission Dr. Mego Terzian explains the goals of the project in Amman and describes the main difficulties encountered by the team and our partners in Iraq.

Dr. Nikki Blackwell, an anesthesiologist on the Amman program, explains the specific features of this surgical project, describing the difficulties involved as well as the new techniques employed and her initial grounds for satisfaction.

Nasir is 37 years old. He lives with his wife and six children in the district of Babylone south of Baghdad. He earns a living doing odd jobs. In January he found himself standing five meters from two people who blew themselves up in a market. Six months later, Nasir has undergone reconstructive surgery in Amman.

Dr. Bassam is an Iraqi physician specializing in orthopedic surgery, who took part in the launch of this project. He now lives with his family in Baghdad, and is a member of the partner team working with MSF. He explains the current situation of the Iraqi health care system, and talks about his collaboration with MSF.

Amman/New York, November 4, 2004 - Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is closing its programs in Iraq. The international humanitarian organization took the decision in view of the extreme risks currently run by aid workers in the country. Given the still considerable humanitarian and medical needs of the Iraqi people, the decision was reached with a great degree of regret and sadness.

By Nicolas De Torrenté, Executive Director of MSF-USA

For Ibrahim Younis, logistics coordinator for MSF's emergency pool, having to accept a US military escort into the besieged city of Fallujah one Sunday in April proved to be "the scariest day in my life."

Against the background of increasing tension and insecurity in large parts of Iraq, the three Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinics in Sadr City remain open. More than 90 Iraqi staff continue to operate the clinics on the outskirts of Baghdad and perform 3,000 consultations each week.

Transcript of Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Press Conference held at the National Press Club, Washington, DC.

Anesthesiologist Marie-Louise Linderer arrived in Baghdad in late April directly following the US occupation of Iraq to help reinforce MSF's team in the city.