Contacts

Yezdandokht St. Ankawa, Erbil, Iraq 
info@ankawahc.org
+964 (0) 750 230 9873

 

Health Programs

 

1 – Medical Assistance (Directed by Dr. Saveen Oghana and Dr. Rami Al-Hurmuzi)

Responding to the health crisis facing the IDP community, H.E. Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda launched several healthcare institutions, including the St. Joseph Charity Clinic (SJCC), a non-profit day clinic that was launched in summer 2014 with the help of volunteering medical doctors and specialists.

The clinic started providing its free continuous medical care and medications to the IDPs in a small room (just 3mx3m) located in St. Joseph Refugee Camp (at St. Joseph Cathedral). And thus, it was named St. Joseph Charity Clinic. 

The Clinic was visited by international donors, including the “Malteser International” and “foundation de Mérieux”. These two donors financed the construction of a new building for SJCC
The clinic moved to the new location on 31st of October 2014, and the official opening ceremony was held on the same day. 

The staff consisted of volunteers: nine Specialist Physicians, ten General Physicians, five Pharmacists, three Nurses (who joined the staff from the Sisters of the Holy Cross, India) and three medical college students who helped with sorting medicines, data entry & other tasks. 
The Clinic received IDPs and other patients 6 days a week. 

2- Chronic Medications Program (Directed by the Sisters of the Holy Cross)

The construction of the new building for the Clinic was finished on 31st of October 2014, a few weeks after that, a new program was adopted by Saint Joseph Charity Clinic to distribute the Medication for IDPs suffering from chronic diseases on a monthly basis. 

The Clinic provided medication for chronic diseases like (Hypertension, Diabetes, Heart Diseases, Epilepsy. etc.). Certain vulnerable IDPs suffering from cancer were supported by covering their medical expenses. 

In the first stage of registration for the new program, about 1000 IDPs registered to receive their medication. By the end of the registration process, SJCC had a database of over 2800 patients receiving their medical assistance on a monthly basis free of charge. 

In late 2017, and after the liberation of Mosul and other parts of the Nineveh plain, the program continued to provide the registered beneficiaries with the necessary medications.
The Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil was later able to expand the program to include some Syrian refugees and local retired people from the city of Ankawa. The registered number reached 2233 beneficiaries (1968 IDPs, 120 Syrian refugees, 145 retired people of Ankawa). 

Starting in May 2017 till the last day of the Clinic, the program was funded by Hungary Helps. The distribution of chronic medication on IDPs and vulnerable people continued till the end of Dec/2019 due to lack of international funds. 

 

3 – Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil implements COVID-19 related emergency activities

After three months of total lockdown that was imposed by the government to limit the spread of the virus, public facilities reopened their doors for the people, and life resumed with adaptation to the new situation. COVID-19 cases continued to rise with the lockdown’s lift, due to lack of awareness of using masks and sanitizers, and the community’s limited access to such protection materials due to lack of money. 

The Archdiocese therefore reached out to mosques, churches, and Directorate of Rural Education to distribute masks, hand sanitizers, hand sanitizer stands with electronic dispensers and printing materials for COVID-19 awareness. 
A total of 600 boxes of non-medical masks, 170 boxes of hand sanitizers, 10,000 COVID-19 awareness brochures and 20 hand sanitizers stands were distributed. 

The Archdiocese was able to contact Islamic Scholars Union-Erbil Branch (ISU) with the Chaldean H.E. Archbishop Bashar Warda personally meeting with the head of ISU-Erbil branch Sheikh Niaz Raghib Naqshbandi, along with the medical staff from the Archdiocese. Together they discussed and encouraged the coexistence and fraternity of Christians and Muslims together through hundreds of years in this land. In this all shall continue to help one another and prosper as one society of different religious and ethnic backgrounds. The two also talked about community and religious leaders coming together to guide and instruct the worshippers of following the Ministry of Health guidelines to self-protection and controlling the spread of the pandemic. 

The pandemic has affected and continues to affect everyday life of everyone, regardless of religious and ethnic backgrounds. All families are being hit financially and this rebounds very badly on the minorities where livelihood programs of any significance have not been initiated since the crisis. In these times, unity and mutual understanding helps a community to survive. The Archdiocese will always work to provide comfort and aid for the local community. The generous donations of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and other international donors will always help the Archdiocese carry out that goal.

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