Primary health care clinic in IDPs compound in Iraq

Written by : Qudama Ahmed

Peace Zone Clinic in Dream City compound

In November, 2016, in collaboration with Preemptive Love Coalition and Iraqi Children Foundation in

response to the humanitarian and health crisis that affected Saladin governorate after its liberation

from ISIS, our primary health care Clinic launched its medical services to offer high quality healthcare

to the patients that fled ISIS and sheltered in dream city compound, many of them are children, often

born right here in the camp where they are in intense need to the medical services like what is

provided in this clinic.

Dream city is a compound consist of more than 312 incomplete houses, the influx of IDPs to dream city started at the august of 2016, when IHAO established its first project in dream city which was a WASH project to provide clean and safe water. There are more than 8600 IDPs live in dream city and they are from Baiji, Shirqat, districts of Mosul, Hadhar , Yathrib, Faluja and others. With more than 820 below five children make establishing a medical service is crucial and very helpful.


Pictures show dream city compound


The staff of the clinic are two doctors, two nurses, and three facilitators.

A tent that is divided into a waiting room and examining room are what had been and still serving the people of the compound for more than 4 months. Pictures of the clinic:


The following charts show the Consultations numbers by both Age groups, sex and the disease to treat

from November, 2016 through February, 2017:

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Consultations per age and sex during november 2016

Number of under 5 years Male consultations Number of under 5 years Female consultations

Number of Above or = 5 years Male consultations Number of Above or = 5 years Female consultations

10

13

13

15

6

11

6

21

2

9

Non communicable diseases Cases during November 2016

Number of cases that need mental health consultation Number of cases with Diabetes

Number of cases with hypertension Number of cases that need dentistry services

Number of cases the need gyne & obs care Number of disabled

Number of cases that need surgical intervention Number of cases that need specialist consultation

Number of unvaccinated children # of cases that needed suturing/ wound care


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Number of consultations per age and sex during December 2016



8

11

28

28

1

32

13

1

26

Number of cases that need mentalhealth consultation

Number of cases with Diabetes

Number of cases with hypertension

Number of cases that need dentistryservices

Number of cases the need gyne & obscare

Number of disabled

Number of cases that need surgicalintervention

Number of cases that need specialistconsultation

Number of unvaccinated children

# of cases that needed suturing/wound care

Non communicalbe diseases cases during december, 2016


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Number of consultations per age and sex during Januray 2017



7

26

65

38

721

15

51

Number of cases that need mentalhealth consultation

Number of cases with Diabetes

Number of cases with hypertension

Number of cases that need dentistryservices

Number of cases the need gyne & obscare

Number of disabled

Number of cases that need surgicalintervention

Number of cases that need specialistconsultation

Number of unvaccinated children

# of cases that needed suturing/wound care

Non communicable diseases cases during January, 2017


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Number of consultations per age and sex during February 2017



13

65

353

8

5

14

43

Non-communicable diseases cases during February, 2017

Number of cases with Diabetes Number of cases with hypertension

Number of cases that need dentistry services Number of cases the need gyne & obs care

Number of disabled Number of cases that need surgical intervention

Number of cases that need specialist consultation Number of unvaccinated children

# of cases that needed suturing/ wound care


We offer a selected range of primary care interventions, these include:

General medical services

The total number of consultations during the first four months was 5451!

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800

Nov-16

Dec-16

Jan-17

Feb-17

Total number of consultations per month


-Nursing services, suture wounds, injections, cleaning wounds and etc.

-Communicable disease reporting and treatment;

A weekly EWARN report is send to the CDC section of Saladin DOH along with providing the

treatment and symptomatic treatment of various infectious diseases.

Pictures of cases of infectious diseases:


The following charts shows the numbers of infectious diseases cases during November,

December, January, and February:

214

682

311

1

4

28

44

6 42

20

Number of infectious diseases cases during November, 2016

upper respiratory infections

lower respiratory infections

acute diarrhea

bloody diarrhea

acure jaundice syndrome

suspected cases of measles

suspected cases of pertusis

suspected cases of leishmaniasis

scabies

chicken pox and Mumps

Urinary tract infections

Eye infections

567

37

105

14

53

7

24

27

23

67

45

Number of infectious diseases cases during December, 2016



acute diarrhea

bloody diarrhea





scabies



Eye infections


490

35

924

11

719

21

60

5538

Number of infectious diseases cases during January, 2017



acute diarrhea

bloody diarrhea





scabies



Eye infections

431

67

5942

10

1 40

16

103

7032

Number of infectious diseases cases during February, 2017



acute diarrhea

bloody diarrhea





scabies



Eye infections


-Providing the treatment of non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension and

diabetes.

-Full weekly report is sent to the Saladin DOH, which include the communicable and

non-communicable diseases

Putting becoming part of the community as a goal made the team serve with passion and helped them to be a good and kind listener to the people with sufferings because telling a story is part of the healing process.


Our team generously provides extra services beside the primary health care ones:

- The provision of wheelchairs and crutches for the people with certain disability.

- Purchase of treatment for the people in need who can't afford to buy it after the consultation with

medical specialist.

-Routine visits to the homes of the elderly people of the camp to follow up on their health conditions

and provide psychological support through active social engagement with those people.


Mental Health Support for the most vulnerable children:

-Dolls Prizes to girls with outstanding school marks, remarkable behavior, special family

circumstances (unaccompanied children) and special medical conditions (rare skin diseases)

-Psychological children support through family periodic visits to the clinic which allowed the

children to see it as a safe, clean environment for them to showcase their abilities, wishes and

dream.

Dr.Mouayd and Dr.Hanadi are the future Iraqi doctors.

-Supporting the Breastfeeding campaign by organizing sessions and offering prize system to the

women who complete the schedule to enhance the newborns immunities in the camp. The

prizes are clean warm clothes to the babies which also increases the hygiene level between the

mothers in the ccmpound.


-Providing the opportunity of decent living for their parents by enrolling them in our IHAO

Tamkeen Program for micro small businesses for IDPs to make sure that they can return to

school without burdening their families with extra financial costs, 20 families has already

enrolled in the program with the condition of letting their children return to schools.

-bringing a child back to school was not part of the duty, but it’s part of our goal in helping the

people heal because education is always the future.

Three sisters who were eager to start school after the help of IHAO in bringing them back to school

-Providing the cost of CS for a woman with mouth cancer who can’t deliver by normal vaginal

delivery, she was about to lose her life, but by the help of ICF we provided the fees of the

operation and they named their child after the doctor that reported the mother’s case.

Official Visits and Collaborations:

Our Work wouldn't have been on this high level of quality without our friendly collaboration with

International and local NGOs also without the support of Iraqi Ministry of Health and our donors PLC

and ICF we wouldn't reach our goals of helping the dream city camp to be a dream city even for short

period of time before IDPs return to their homes. We receive bi-weekly and bi-monthly visits from the

local officials, International/local organizations.

Khatab Aljubory, the consultant of of Salahdin governor for health and environment affairs.


Dr. Abass Mahdi the manager of CDC section in Saladin DOH showing our staff how to administer the treatment of

Leshmaniasis.

Dr Sahar Kamal, the head of nutrition section in Salahdin DOH.

AbdulraZaq Alnuman , the secretary of head of committee for relief and sheltering in Saladin governorate


TDH child protection monitor visit the clinic to show our doctor some cases that he bring continuously for diagnosis and

treatment.

Visit by the IMC GBV team

Team from Saladin DOH

And other visits where by:

-Dr Sarab Abdulrahman, strategic planning department manager at Saladin DOH

- WHO Focal Point Dr. Omar Khaiuraldeen

- WHO field coordinator, Dr Musab

- dream city's sheriff

- team of CDC section for treating Leishmaniasis cases

Healthcare

Primary health care clinic in IDPs compound in Iraq