"Access to healthcare in Sinjar [Shingal] has been drastically compromised by severe damage to medical infrastructure, the displacement of health professionals, and ongoing insecurity in parts of the governorate," said MSF's field coordinator in Snune, Morris Ramnaps, in a press release on Thursday.
Snune is one of the most densely populated towns of Shingal and the location of one of the two major hospitals in the region destroyed in the conflict.
The Snune General Hospital also provides the only maternity facility with an operating room in the area.
"The number of patients in the maternity [ward] is increasing since we re-opened the service," said MSF's medical team leader in the town, Priscillah Gitahi. "We are now seeing an average of 25 deliveries in our facility every week."
MSF began supporting emergency services to the hospital in July. This includes ambulance services and follow-up referrals to healthcare professionals.
Medical teams report that Yezidis are often reluctant to accept follow-up care in Mosul or Tel Afar because of the history of violence from ISIS they suffered in these cities.
MSF also plans to provide mental health services in Snune by the end of the year.
Thousands of Yezidis are still displaced from their homes and sheltering mainly in Duhok. Insecurity, lack of reconstruction, and politics have inhibited many of them from returning to their villages and towns.
