Health officials in Erbil are preparing more hospitals in Erbil as violence subsumes Iraq.
Existing facilities in the city are overflowing with citizens injured in the militant takeover of Mosul only 90 kilometers away.
Heavy clashes between the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Iraqi Security Forces in the last week resulted in many deaths and injuries, causing as many as 300,000 people to cross the border into Iraqi Kurdistan.
Although many have since returned to the Mosul, a significant number remain, and some travel between the two cities to receive basic services.
The internally displaced persons join approximately 250,000 Syrian refugees in the Kurdistan region, as well as thousands of Iraqis who left Anbar earlier this year.
Dr.Saman Barzinji – a senior health official in Erbil, told to Rudaw: “We have plan A and Plan B for any incidents that may happen in future, so that we are able to provide for any patient needs. We don’t want to depend on Baghdad for sending medicine, because importing medicine from Baghdad could stop at any time. We are on standby alert for any emergencies.”
Teams of doctors have been dispatched to areas between Kirkuk and Mosul.
Kurds, Arabs, and other minorities who have been injured have been sent to specialized clinics—such as kidney or cancer treatment centers—because general hospitals are already running over capacity.
Nawzad Hadi, the governor of Erbil, spoke about the challenges the Kurdistan Region is facing.
“Health service needs to meet a number of needs. Refugees often have diseases such as measles as well as injuries or disabilities. We have hospitals for dialysis, for example. There are also many people in Kurdistan region who need treatment, so the number of refugees presents a real challenge.”
Many officials expect delays or cancellation of deliveries from Baghdad as ISIS fighters and other militants surround the city. For now, their task is to secure new supplies of medicine and prepare for the worst as the country drifts towards sectarian civil war.
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