Iraq: MSF Supplies Mosul Hospital With Emergency Material in Wake of Bomb Attack

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PRESS RELEASE

August 7, 2009
Iraq: MSF Supplies Mosul Hospital With Emergency Material in Wake of Bomb Attack

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).

More wounded are expected to arrive in the coming hours to the Jumury Hospital in the center of the city. The hospital, which has been assisted by local MSF volunteers since 2007, immediately requested supplies and materials from MSF to cover the increased emergency needs.

“The hospital has exhausted much of its available medical and surgical supplies due to the enormous number of critically wounded patients,” said Gustavo Fernandez, Amman-based head of mission for MSF’s Iraq program. “MSF regrets the deaths and suffering of civilians who have been caught in this indiscriminate and terrible violence.”

MSF is sending surgical materials, catheters, tubes, drains, iodine bottles, as well as bandages and compresses, to Jumury Hospital to cover the needs of approximately 100 wounded patients. In addition, MSF is supplying kits to treat 100 burn victims.

MSF has been supporting Jumury Hospital since 2007. In addition to providing medical materials, local volunteers in the hospital’s emergency unit have been trained to respond to mass casualty events.

Despite the ongoing conflict in Iraq, which has made it difficult for humanitarian organizations to be present in the country, MSF is striving to provide medical care to the Iraqi people. Since 2006, MSF has implemented programs in different parts of Iraq, such as Anbar, Basra, and in the Northern governorates of Tameem and Ninewa, mostly supporting hospitals by supplying medical materials and training. In Suleimanyah, in the north of the country, MSF has taken over the provision of services at a hospital specializing in treating burn victims. MSF is also operating a reconstructive surgical program in Jordan.