Health
USAID’s goals include supporting a reformed Iraqi Ministry of Health, delivering
essential health services, funding vaccines and high protein biscuits for
pregnant and nursing mothers and malnourished children, providing basic primary
health care equipment and supplies, training and upgrading health staff,
providing health education and information, and identify the specific needs of
the health sector and of vulnerable populations such as women and children.
Highlights this week:
Some of the equipment provided in a healthcare kit |
- USAID’s partner UNICEF
is developing several
new initiatives to
strengthen Iraq’s healthcare
system and build
the capacity of Iraq’s
Ministry of Health
(MOH) to address the
population’s health care
needs. These initiatives
are part of an $18 million
USAID grant to
UNICEF’s health program,
which is improving the quality and availability of healthcare in Iraq
with a special emphasis on child and maternal care. These new initiatives
include construction of healthcare centers, health assessments, and MOH
personnel training.
- Despite difficult security conditions, the MOH and USAID are continuing
their efforts to re-equip primary healthcare clinics throughout Iraq. To date,
333 primary healthcare centers have been reequipped
through the Health Systems
Strengthening Program; this is more than
half of the 600 clinics to be re-equipped
upon completion of this program. These
centers received primary healthcare kits containing
approximately 60 items of basic
medical equipment, office furniture, and
laboratory equipment to improve provision
of essential health services. The initiative is
funded by USAID to support the MOH’s
goal of rebuilding Iraq’s system of primary
healthcare centers.
Major Accomplishments to Date:
A USAID primary healthcare kit |
- Vaccinated over 3 million
children under five and
700,000 pregnant women
with vaccination campaigns
that included monthly immunization
days.
- Provided supplementary
doses of vitamin A for more
than 600,000 children under
two and 1.5 million lactating
mothers.
- Provided iron folate supplements
for over 1.6 million
women of childbearing age.
- Screened more than 1.3
million children under five for
malnutrition.
- Distributed high protein
biscuits to more than
450,000 children and
200,000 pregnant and nursing
mothers.
- Provided potable water
for 400,000 persons each
day in Basrah city and
170,000 persons in Kirkuk
and Mosul.
- Provided skills training for
2,500 primary health care
providers and 700 physicians.
- Trained 2,000 health
educators, teachers, religious
leaders and youth to
mobilize communities on
hygiene, diarrhea, breastfeeding,
nutrition and immunization
issues.
- Disseminated information
on essential health messages
to families around the
country.
- Renovated 110 primary
health care centers.
- Provided vaccines and
cold chain equipment to
selected health centers.
- Developed a national plan
for the fortification of wheat
flour with iron and folic acid.
More Information:
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