“Our teams arrived first at Al-Abbasi town and established a temporary primary healthcare centre as the public one was damaged in the fighting,” says Sellah Moraa, MSF Deputy Head of Mission in Kirkuk. “Shortly after, we extended our activities and started working at the primary healthcare centre of Hawija main town,” Sellah adds. Located at the western end of Kirkuk Governorate, the Hawija district was part of Iraq’s one-third of territory that fell under the control of the Islamic State (IS) group in 2014. For the next three years, thousands of people fled their homes, leaving everything behind. The displacement worsened when armed battles to retake control of the district began in 2017. Hundreds of thousands were displaced from Hawija into camps in Kirkuk and other governorates. The district’s health infrastructure sustained significant damage; not only from the armed battles but also due to the depletion of resources and services during the area's isolation from the rest of the country for three years. In response, MSF established clinics, focusing on chronic diseases, mental health, and health promotion. 8 years later, the region is recovering, and MSF has officially handed over these activities to the local Directorate of Health.