WHO welcomes French aid to Iraq in Mosul battle
Displaced people who were injured in clashes and fled from Islamic State militants in Mosul, receive treatment at a hospital west of Erbil, Iraq, November 25, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
The medical aid package was offered by French President Francois Hollande during his recent visit to Iraq on January 2nd. They include emergency medicines and supplies, including for trauma and pain management.
“This new donation will certainly boost the emergency response by WHO, national health authorities and partners to meet increasing needs for trauma and pain management services,” said Mr Altaf Musani, WHO Representative in Iraq.
WHO estimates 40,000 people will require urgent hospitalization for injuries as conflict continues in Mosul.
Iraqi government forces, assisted by a US-led international military coalition and tribal militias, have been sweeping Mosul districts since October to drive out IS militants who had taken over the city and other areas of Iraq in 2014. The conflict forced at least 160.000 people to flee homes to refugee camps, where they have been reported to suffer dire living conditions.
The United Nations estimates there are more than 3 million people internally displaced due to the violence that gripped Iraq since the emergence of the Islamic State