NEW YORK, APRIL 14, 2020—With the number of patients with COVID-19 on the rise in Iraq, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has begun supporting several hospitals across the country. According to the Iraqi Ministry of Health (MoH), the country has reported more than 1,000 cases and 60 confirmed deaths due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
On April 1, MSF began supporting Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad. This hospital is one of three designated by the MoH to treat patients with COVID-19 in Baghdad, which is the hardest-hit city in the country. MSF’s team assessed Ibn al-Khatib Hospital’s readiness to deal with the outbreak and started providing hospital staff with training on infection prevention and control (IPC) and triage management. These preparations will ensure that COVID-19 patients receive proper treatment while still protecting other patients and staff from infection.