New Ultrasound Machine, Other Equipment Helps Save Lives in Iraq

Halima Faraj Hassan and many other women in the community of Maidan have had to travel long distances for proper health services, sometimes foregoing health services altogether because of the distance and related costs.

But that reality changed recently, thanks to funding from the USAID Iraq Consultative Service Delivery Program (CSDP) and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which allowed the community to supply the local health center with an ultrasound machine and other essential medical equipment.

"We had to travel [far] for medical diagnoses and spend lots of money in transportation," says Hassan, who is pregnant and lives in a nearby village. “Now we are close and I can receive necessary medical care."

The community of Maidan is located in a territory disputed between the central government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which has made it difficult for residents to receive basic health services. In 2004 a small health center was built, but it lacked basic medical equipment, including an ultrasound machine, much-needed for the pregnant women in the area.

As part of the USAID-funded CSDP, a community advisory group (CAG)—a group of community members who worked with the program team—chose to use the program funds to invest in the local health center.

The result: More than 1,200 people in the community now have access to quality health services, including services critical to pregnant and lactating women.

"The number of visitors in the [health] center has increased significantly, especially pregnant women," says Khalid Abdul Karim, the health center director.

Coming soon, the Kurdistan Regional Government plans to provide the health center with a full-time doctor and ambulance for emergencies.

Learn more about ACDI/VOCA's work in Iraq.

Pictured at left: A woman receives ultrasound services thanks to new equipment supplied by CSDP and the Kurdistan Regional Government.