Médecins Sans Frontières - Portrait of MSF Staff

Unique Identifier Code / URN MSB129279

Date taken / Date Recorded 23/06/2022 2:03 PM

Country Iraq

Detailed location Mosul, Ninewa, Iraq

Commissioning section MSF-BELGIUM

Photographer / videographer / producer Florence Dozol

Copyright Florence Dozol/MSF

Usage Rights (MSF) Advertising Campaign, External Media, MSF Fundraising, MSF Publications, Social Media

Formal Consent Copy available yes

Project section OCB

Editor's rating ★★★★ (E)

Maximum Size 4819px × 3213px 3.83 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist In October 2016, the military offensive to retake the city from the hands of the Islamic State group (ISg) began. After almost three years under the control of the ISg, Mosul, once the country's second largest city, had lost most of its population as people fled the control of ISg and the awful living conditions in the city. The offensive lasted nine months. As time went on, the front line shifted from one part of the city to another, and almost every street and house had its share of the war. With thousands of the city’s residents wounded or killed and more than a million displaced, this moment remains one of the deadliest urban battles since the Second World War. The end of the battle was officially announced on July 10th, 2017, exactly 5 years ago. Since 2017, life has ever since resumed in Mosul, but rebuilding the city has been slow, and the healthcare system is no exception to this slow pace.

At the height of the battle, MSF teams were treating wounded people who were fleeing the battle zones and provided healthcare services in displacement camps to assist those who settled there by responding to their most urgent medical needs. As the situations stabilised, MSF activities shifted from emergency responses to supporting the healthcare system, focusing on the medical specialties that the population cannot easily access. MSF continues to support several healthcare facilities in the city. Our teams provide maternity, neonatal and pediatric care at the Nablus Hospital and in Al-Amal maternity centre, on the western bank of the city, while providing much needed orthopedic surgeries and post-surgical care at the Al-Wahda Hospital on the eastern bank. The numbers of births per month we see in our projects is reaching record figures and the surgeries we provide at Al-Wahda Hospital are operations that patients cannot easily access or afford elsewhere across the city. But beyond the general data and the difficulties, Mosul’s inhabitants are standing up again, the collective effort of each person we cross in our facilities tells a story of resilience and hope. And the city still needs support and will continue to need it for years to come.