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‘Extraordinary devastation’: Mosul healthcare inadequate months after ‘liberation’ – UNICEF to RT Enormous challenge to clear Mosul after one of biggest urban battles since WWII – UNICEF to RT
(about 7 hours later)
The healthcare system in Mosul is still far from adequate due to the “massive extent of devastation” inflicted, more than six months since the end of the battle for the city, UNICEF’s representative in Iraq told RT. The burden for civilians is still incredibly heavy in Mosul, six months after the end of the battle for the city, a UNICEF representative in Iraq told RT. People remain in desperate need for basic healthcare services.
The situation in Mosul remains tough, with its residents having extremely limited access to health facilities, despite all the efforts of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and other humanitarian organizations, Peter Hawkins said. The official has recently paid a personal visit to Mosul to hand over equipment to a public health laboratory and witnessed the situation on the ground.
“What we need to understand is the extent of the problem. This is a massive city. Mosul city probably faced one of the biggest urban warfares since World War II and 2.2 – 2.4 million people affected. It’s an enormous challenge to everybody to try and clear everything up and get the people working again,” Hawkins told RT. Fierce fighting between Iraqi forces and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) affected between 2.2 and 2.4 million people. Now “it’s an enormous challenge to everybody to try and clear everything up and get the people working again,” Peter Hawkins, the UN agency’s representative, said in an interview.
The city is still struggling to adjust some seven months after it was “liberated” from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists by Iraqi troops, backed by the US-led coalition. West Mosul has suffered the most, enduring a months-long siege and heavy bombardment, and the situation there is still worse than in other parts of the city. Earlier this month, a Ruptly video agency team filmed Mosul’s Old City still strewn with corpses of those who perished during the city’s months-long siege.
“If you’re in the east side it’s much better, on the west side the level of devastation was extraordinary. But wherever you are, the number of healthcare centers, hospitals is very limited, the extent of the damage has affected it,” Hawkins said. Hawkins, who inspected Mosul’s recovering healthcare system, was amazed by the “resilience and dedication” of local health workers, but there is still much to be done before the city – once Iraq’s second-largest – is brought back to its feet.
“You have to understand the massive extent of devastation,” he added. “It’s a wide area, wide levels of devastation, families have to walk enormous distances to be able to get the health care.” The western edge of Mosul, which endured a months-long siege and heavy bombing by coalition aircraft, has suffered the most, the UNICEF official noted. “If you’re in the east side it’s much better, on the west side the level of devastation was extraordinary,” he said.
While both local and international aid workers are working hard to provide help to the citizens of Mosul, they still have “months to go to continue to try and get the healthcare services up and running to the extent we all wanted them to be,” Hawkins stressed. However, the number of healthcare centers and hospitals is very limited because of the damage inflicted by the fighting, which makes it difficult for civilians to receive treatment.
“It’s a wide area, wide levels of devastation,” Hawkins said, adding that families living in remote areas have to cover long distances to be able to get even basic care, such as vaccines.
While local and international aid workers are making efforts to provide help to the citizens of Mosul, they still have “months to go to continue to try and get the healthcare services up and running to the extent we all wanted them to be,” the aid official stressed.
The battle for Mosul, considered one of the largest during the US-led anti-IS campaign, ended in July 2017, when the Iraqi government declared victory over the Islamists. The fighting left some 2.6 million displaced, according to UN estimates. Nearly 750,000 children, UNICEF says, are left without access to healthcare in the entire Mosul province. 
The Reconstruction Conference for Iraq will convene in Kuwait next week in a bid to raise funds for restoring Mosul’s healthcare systems, with UNICEF asking donors for an additional $17 million to support rebuilding children’s healthcare facilities in Iraq in 2018.
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