Health

The World Bank (WB) has been a partner in the reconstruction of Iraq’s health sector since July/August 2003. It helped organize and participated in a series of workshops with the Minister of Health (MOH) and other donors and prepared the first project in the health sector – the Emergency Health Rehabilitation Project, which became effective in December 2004.
A second ITF project – the Emergency Disabilities Project ($19.5 million)– became effective in November 2005 and aims to improve services to the disabled by developing a comprehensive policy and legal framework for disabilities, strengthening government-NGO partnerships, and reconstructing fourteen rehabilitation centers.

The Emergency Health Rehabilitation Project ($25 million) (EHRP), responding to urgent needs in the health sector, was designed to be quickly implemented, without duplicating other donor activities. It finances rehabilitation of priority emergency services, including emergency obstetric care, in 11 selected hospitals, and provides 12 hospitals with basic medical and laboratory equipment and essential drugs. It also provides a sustainable model for the health sector in planning, procurement and financial management. It intends to constitute the most effective way for the MOH to acquire the capacity it needs to manage longer-term reconstruction and rehabilitation activities.

Renovation and extension/ excavation of  the Emergency Unit at the Imam Ali General Hospital (Baghdad, EHRP)

EHRP is now on the right track.  The first phase of construction activities has begun, and 6 health units are being rehabilitated (civil works valued at US$10 million) in Missan, Salah El Din, Erbil, south Baghdad and Kirkuk.  In addition, the procurement for the medical equipment package (with an estimated value of US$4 million) was signed in 2006. Also, 50 doctors were trained in Emergency Preparedness and Response in the fall 2006.