In more than 70 countries, Médecins Sans Frontières provides medical humanitarian assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of people in crisis situations.
We set up the MSF Access Campaign in 1999 to push for access to, and the development of, life-saving and life-prolonging medicines, diagnostic tests and vaccines for people in our programmes and beyond.
Based in Paris, CRASH conducts and directs studies and analysis of MSF actions. They participate in internal training sessions and assessment missions in the field.
Based in Geneva, UREPH (or Research Unit) aims to improve the way MSF projects are implemented in the field and to participate in critical thinking on humanitarian and medical action.
Based in Brussels, MSF Analysis intends to stimulate reflection and debate on humanitarian topics organised around the themes of migration, refugees, aid access, health policy and the environment in which aid operates.
This logistical and supply centre in Brussels provides storage of and delivers medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.
This supply and logistics centre in Bordeaux, France, provides warehousing and delivery of medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.
This logistical centre in Amsterdam purchases, tests, and stores equipment including vehicles, communications material, power supplies, water-processing facilities and nutritional supplements.
SAMU provides strategic, clinical and implementation support to various MSF projects with medical activities related to HIV and TB. This medical unit is based in Cape Town, South Africa.
BRAMU specialises in neglected tropical diseases, such as dengue and Chagas, and other infectious diseases. This medical unit is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Our medical guidelines are based on scientific data collected from MSF’s experiences, the World Health Organization (WHO), other renowned international medical institutions, and medical and scientific journals.
Providing epidemiological expertise to underpin our operations, conducting research and training to support our goal of providing medical aid in areas where people are affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or excluded from health care.
Evaluation Units have been established in Vienna, Stockholm, and Paris, assessing the potential and limitations of medical humanitarian action, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of our medical humanitarian work.
The Luxembourg Operational Research (LuxOR) unit coordinates field research projects and operational research training, and provides support for documentation activities and routine data collection.
The MSF Paediatric Days is an event for paediatric field staff, policy makers and academia to exchange ideas, align efforts, inspire and share frontline research to advance urgent paediatric issues of direct concern for the humanitarian field.
The MSF Foundation aims to create a fertile arena for logistics and medical knowledge-sharing to meet the needs of MSF and the humanitarian sector as a whole.
A collaborative, patients’ needs-driven, non-profit drug research and development organisation that is developing new treatments for neglected diseases, founded in 2003 by seven organisations from around the world.
After years of armed conflict and instability, the health sector in Iraq is struggling to meet the dire needs.
Many health facilities that are still operating lack much-needed medical services and supplies and suffer a shortage of healthcare specialists.
The humanitarian needs in Iraq remain extremely high. More than a million people are still internally displaced and significant barriers are preventing them from returning to their homes; some of them having lived ‘temporarily’ in camps for years without adequate access to basic services. Thousands of displaced people who managed to return home desperately lack medical care and other basic services.
The COVID-19 outbreak in Iraq has exacerbated the country’s under-resourced healthcare system.
Currently, our teams provide medical assistance in three Iraqi governorates.
We provide antenatal and postnatal care, neonatal and paediatric care, as well as family planning services. We also assist births, including those with complications. Our teams in Mosul and Sinuni assisted a total of 15,701 births between January and June 2020.
02Rehabilitation
Many trauma patients need of specialised surgeries, regular dressing changes, pain management, and physiotherapy. MSF provides surgical and rehabilitative care in our post-operative care facility in Mosul. We also run a medical rehabilitation centre in Baghdad, where services includes pain management and mental health support. Improving patients' post-surgical recovery processes helps prevent complications and physical and psychological impairments.
03Mental health
The psychological and emotional consequences of the war and displacement are immense. That's why mental health is a key component of many of our projects in Iraq. MSF psychiatrists, doctors, psychologists and counsellors give vital care and support to people with moderate or severe mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression, schizophrenia and severe anxiety.
04Displaced people
According to the International Organization for Migration, over four million people have returned to their places of origin in Iraq since January 2014. Yet more than 1.27 million people remain internally displaced across Iraq as of October 2020. They often lack access to adequate services, including healthcare, and water and sanitation.
05Drug-resistant tuberculosis
According to the World Health Organization, Iraq is among the seven countries in the eastern Mediterranean region with a high burden of tuberculosis (TB). MSF has been supporting the National Tuberculosis Programme since 2018. We aim to improve case detection, provide better tolerated and effective treatment for drug-resistant TB patients, and improving the quality of care for patients.
In 2019
125,900
125,9
outpatient consultations
89,700
89,7
emergency room admissions
33,300
33,3
individual mental health consultations
11,200
11,2
births assisted
4,390
4,39
surgical interventions
2003
2003
Year MSF first worked in the country
Iraq
Crisis update Mosul - May 2017
Crisis Update8 May 2017
Iraq
“We walked all night, staying away from roads for fear of being caught”
Project Update11 Apr 2017
Iraq
The patients we receive are the “lucky ones”
Voices from the Field4 Apr 2017
Iraq
Stabilising emergencies in a pocket of safety
Project Update3 Apr 2017
Iraq
“Yesterday, it was calm; we only received 20 war-wounded patients”
Voices from the Field22 Mar 2017
Iraq
Thousands of wounded and sick coming from western Mosul
Press Release22 Mar 2017
Photo Story
Bringing aid close to the frontline
8 Mar 2017
Photo Story
Jordan
A new life for war-wounded Iraqis
Project Update27 Feb 2017
Iraq
Assisting people displaced from Hawija
Voices from the Field9 Feb 2017
Related topics
Crisis Settings
War and conflict
Around one-quarter of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for populations caught in armed conflict.
Crisis Settings
Refugees, IDPs and people on the move
There are many reasons for flight, including war, persecution, conflict, natural disaster, destitution and repression. With health and well-being jeopardised, the lives of the most vulnerable can be at risk.
Middle East & North Africa
Syria
War has raged in Syria for the best part of a decade, killing hundreds of thousands of people, displacing millions more, and creating extreme levels of destruction and suffering.
Up Next
Health system struggling to make ends meet in some areas of Iraq
