Health on wheels: mobile clinic brings vital care to displaced Yazidis in Iraq
Zedo Khudida Hamo is 55. He’s from Rambosy Village on Sinjar mountain, the traditional homeland of Iraq’s Yazidi people.
He hasn’t seen his home since November 2014, when he was forced by militants to flee. He went to Syria and then to the Duhok region, where he lives in Sienna village with his wife and family.
Like the other displaced Yazidi in the village, the family gets by on very little. They don’t have enough food, there’s no electricity, and they live in unfinished buildings, often with plastic sheeting for walls.
A mobile health clinic provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) visits Sienna once a month, and it’s in great demand. When it pulls up, a long line forms immediately.
“There’s no primary health centre in the village, and before the villagers had to go a long way to get treatment. Every day we come here we see 100 to 150 cases,” says Dr. Ari Sedeeq.
The clinic is staffed by a doctor, three nurses, a pharmacy assistant and a driver. They stay until they’ve seen everybody who needs their help.
Zedo and his daughter Zuhur have brought his granddaughter Gilan, who is six months old, for treatment.
Like many others, her health has suffered from living in sub-standard housing.
“She’s coughing and has shortness of breath. We’ve come to see the doctor,” says Zuhur, Gilan’s aunt.
To meet their primary health needs, WHO provided six mobile clinics that serve 40,000 people in Sumer, Zahko, Amedi and Shikhan districts. The Duhok Directorate of Health (DoH) also contributes to the programme.
This programme is providing vital care for one of Iraq’s most vulnerable populations. The Yazidi from Sinjar are one of the country’s lowest socio economic groups, and massive displacement has only added to their burdens, especially those who live outside of formal camps.
“Duhok is a special case. Many Yazidi are reluctant to go back to Sinjar, and the current financial situation makes their lives very hard,” says WHO National Emergency Medical Officer Dr Blend Kamal Jalal Mizoori.
“Duhok has 17 displacement camps and four refugee camps. Sixty per cent of displaced and refugee families live outside these camps in host communities. The Department of Health of Duhok doesn’t have the financial resources to support everyone; this is the main issue. We’re dedicated, but still there are huge needs,” he says.
For now, Baby Gilan, despite the other hardships she and her family face, is getting expert care.
“We get a lot of help from this clinic. They support us,” says Zuhur as she leaves the clinic carrying baby Gilan and her medicine.
“We visit every month for medicine. Before it was far for us to get to the nearest clinic. Now it’s much easier.”
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WHO has provided 69 mobile medical clinics to Iraq’s Ministry of Health to support health service provision for vulnerable populations across the country. WHO’s emergency health support in Iraq is funded by generous donations from USAID/OFDA, ECHO, Italy, Germany, Kuwait, Japan, Korea, China, United Nations OCHA/CERF, and UN Development. In 2018, WHO and the health cluster require US$ 64.7 million to support health needs in Iraq, of which approximately 13% is currently funded.
More on the health crisis in Iraq and more on WHO’s work in emergencies.
