MSF is supplying Mosul hospital in northern Iraq with medical emergency material after a bomb attack today on the outskirts of the city caused a large number of casualties.
More than 100 wounded patients have been assisted in the aftermath of a large bomb blast on the outskirts of the city of Mosul, northern Iraq. Still more wounded are expected to arrive in the coming hours to the Jumury hospital in the centre of Mosul. The hospital, assisted by volunteers from Médecins Sans Frontières since 2007, immediately asked the international medical organisation for supplies of materials to cover their increased needs in the emergency situation.
“The hospital has exhausted much of its surgical supplies due to the enormous number of critically wounded patients”, says Gustavo Fernandez, Head of Mission for the Iraq program based in Amman, Jordan: “MSF regrets the deaths and suffering of civilians who have been caught in this indiscriminate and terrible violence.”
The material that is about to arrive in the hospital, consists of surgical material, catheters, tubes, drains, iodine bottles as well as bandages and compresses. This will cover the material needs of approximately 100 wounded patients. In addition MSF is supplying burn kits to treat 100 burn victims.
MSF has been supporting Jumury hospital since 2007. Besides the supply of medical material, volunteers in the hospital’s emergency unit have undertaken trainings on the reception of mass casualties over recent months.
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Despite the ongoing conflict in Iraq, which has made it difficult for humanitarian organisations to be present in the country, MSF is striving to provide medical care to the Iraqi people. Since 2006, MSF has implemented programmes in different parts of Iraq, such as Anbar, Basra and in the Northern governorates of Tameem and Ninewa, mostly supporting hospitals by the supply of medical materials and training. In Suleimanyah, in the North, MSF has taken over the provision of services at a hospital specialised in burns. MSF has also established a programme for reconstructive surgery in Jordan.