An interview about healthcare in Iraq
I just finished up a meeting with Dr.Hamed Ahmed Mahmood Al-Jaff who is: an orthopedic surgeon, MBChB (in medicine &general surgery), DOS (diploma of Orthopedic surgery), F.I.C.M.S (ortho), Lecturer at University of Sulaimany-College of Medicine-Orthopedics department, Consultant orthopedic surgeon at Sulaimanyia medical school (Teaching) hospital and is Giving Children Hope’s director of distribution to our aid that gets sent to the north of Iraq in Kurdistan.
That was a mouth-full I admit. I had an interesting conversation with Dr. Al-Jaff and you can watch some video clips.
Here’s what he had to tell me. He said that since he first became our partner 2 years ago, the health care situation in Iraq had improved. However, overall healthcare remains a disaster due to government corruption, lack of available supplies and medicines, and to a relatively poor population who does not have the ability to pay for the basics in healthcare.
Dr. Al-Jaff told me stories of the lack of trained medical professionals and at certain times he performs up to 30 surgeries per night because he is only one of 10 orthopedic surgeons in the country.
Dr. Al-Jaff also touched on the conflict between the Kurdish people in the north and the rest of the country. He explained that the central government is in charge of healthcare but because of the way they view the Kurdish people, they often do not send supplies to the north. The Kurdish people continue to suffer and if it wasn’t for the help of humanitarian organizations (NGOs) like Giving Children Hope, he does not know what would happen to the people.
I was also told a wonderful story about the containers that we sent to the north. At the end of the day, we do what we do so that people in difficult situations can feel hope and that lives can be saved. Dr. Al-Jaff had a wonderful piece of laparoscopic equipment and for two years he asked the government for the supplies to go along with it so it could be useful. He never did receive anything from the government. He put in his request to Giving Children Hope and all of the necessary tubings were provided to him for use in surgeries. He told me how he was overjoyed and how they do not turn people away for surgeries because now they have the proper tools – that thousands of people’s lives have been touched in the two years since these supplies were provided! Using this type of surgery has cut down on the mortality rate so literally, people are alive because of aid that came from Orange County to Iraq. Wow! I know that this is what we do and really that every shipment helps to save lives. But there is certainly something about hearing it again, from a doctor’s perspective, which helps it to sink in.
So today, I encourage you to look at our up-coming shipments to Iraq. No matter what you might think politically about the situation, maybe the conversation should shift from what do we do about politics to how do we practically help the people. Make the decision to invest in the Iraqis on the front lines and partner with us to provide healthcare.
An interview about healthcare in Iraq
I just finished up a meeting with Dr.Hamed Ahmed Mahmood Al-Jaff who is: an orthopedic surgeon, MBChB (in medicine &general surgery), DOS (diploma of Orthopedic surgery), F.I.C.M.S (ortho), Lecturer at University of Sulaimany-College of Medicine-Orthopedics department, Consultant orthopedic surgeon at Sulaimanyia medical school (Teaching) hospital and is Giving Children Hope’s director of distribution to our aid that gets sent to the north of Iraq in Kurdistan.
That was a mouth-full I admit. I had an interesting conversation with Dr. Al-Jaff and you can watch some video clips.
Here’s what he had to tell me. He said that since he first became our partner 2 years ago, the health care situation in Iraq had improved. However, overall healthcare remains a disaster due to government corruption, lack of available supplies and medicines, and to a relatively poor population who does not have the ability to pay for the basics in healthcare.
Dr. Al-Jaff told me stories of the lack of trained medical professionals and at certain times he performs up to 30 surgeries per night because he is only one of 10 orthopedic surgeons in the country.
Dr. Al-Jaff also touched on the conflict between the Kurdish people in the north and the rest of the country. He explained that the central government is in charge of healthcare but because of the way they view the Kurdish people, they often do not send supplies to the north. The Kurdish people continue to suffer and if it wasn’t for the help of humanitarian organizations (NGOs) like Giving Children Hope, he does not know what would happen to the people.
I was also told a wonderful story about the containers that we sent to the north. At the end of the day, we do what we do so that people in difficult situations can feel hope and that lives can be saved. Dr. Al-Jaff had a wonderful piece of laparoscopic equipment and for two years he asked the government for the supplies to go along with it so it could be useful. He never did receive anything from the government. He put in his request to Giving Children Hope and all of the necessary tubings were provided to him for use in surgeries. He told me how he was overjoyed and how they do not turn people away for surgeries because now they have the proper tools – that thousands of people’s lives have been touched in the two years since these supplies were provided! Using this type of surgery has cut down on the mortality rate so literally, people are alive because of aid that came from Orange County to Iraq. Wow! I know that this is what we do and really that every shipment helps to save lives. But there is certainly something about hearing it again, from a doctor’s perspective, which helps it to sink in.
So today, I encourage you to look at our up-coming shipments to Iraq. No matter what you might think politically about the situation, maybe the conversation should shift from what do we do about politics to how do we practically help the people. Make the decision to invest in the Iraqis on the front lines and partner with us to provide healthcare.
