Health personnel at a public laboratoryBaghdad 13 March 2019 – The World Health Organization (WHO) extends its gratitude to the Government and People of Japan for the generous contribution of US$ 803 571 to assist in protecting health security in post-conflict Iraq by strengthening the country’s ability to prepare for and respond to public health events, particularly in vulnerable populations.

While the country moves towards the reconstruction and resilience phase, the need for humanitarian assistance persists, and services established by WHO during the crisis need to be sustained in areas containing internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, refugees and host communities. More than 5 million people in Iraq were internally displaced because of recent conflict. While over 3.5 million individuals have returned to their homes of origin, 10 per cent remain living in IDP camps. Further, approximately 30 per cent of the total recorded IDPs are living with host communities in displaced locations. The IDPs, including those in the camps, within host communities, and returnees and other vulnerable people, continue to be at risk of infectious diseases.

“The overall aim is to protect health security in Iraq by strengthening the country’s ability to prepare for and respond to public health events, using the all-hazards approach, as per the International Health Regulations IHR (2005). More specifically, WHO will continue to support vulnerable populations in the prevention and control of epidemic-prone diseases and emerging infectious diseases that pose a threat to people in the post-conflict era” said Dr Adham Ismail, Acting WHO Representative in Iraq, acknowledging the generous contribution from Japan.

WHO’s work will largely focus on developmental activities to build and enhance the capacity of health professionals at various levels (central, governorate, and district) in disease detection and disease monitoring, through strengthening the surveillance system and laboratory diagnostics, and in case management for prevalent diseases to ensure appropriate patient care.

This contribution will ensure an enhanced infectious disease surveillance system and public health preparedness to enable early detection and response to disease outbreaks and other public health threats. It will also go towards enhancing the capacity of health professionals in preparing for and responding to infectious disease outbreaks as well as improving risk communication in infectious disease prevention and control. Furthermore, it will target the 3 million high-risk people, including IDPs, returnees, refugees and host communities.

Staff from the Ministry of Health at a capacity building session extending their thanks to JapanThe Government of Japan has been a key partner to WHO, contributing a total of US$ 6 075 696 million over 4 years in support of the Organization’s interventions and services to the health sector across Iraq

For more information, please contact:

Gheeda Mayahi, WHO Communications Officer, (+964) 7827886765, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Pauline Ajello, WHO Communications Officer, (+964) 7510101460, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ajyal Sultany, WHO Communications Officer, (+964) 7740 892 878, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it