6 JULY 2017, BAGHDAD, IRAQ – The maternity ward in Mosul General Hospital, supported by the United Nations Population Fund with funding from the Australian Government, has reopened to provide reproductive health services for women and girls, after being forced to close down for several months due to damages during the military operations in West Mosul.

The hospital, which is the only facility that provides maternity and neonatal care in West Mosul, will respond to the needs of more than 200,000 women and girls that were denied access to healthcare for years under ISIS.

“Thanks to the Government of Australia for its generous support, life-saving interventions and reproductive health services will now be accessible again to thousands of women and girls after being cut off for years from accessing these services,” said UNFPA Representative in Iraq, Mr. Ramanathan Balakrishnan.

It is estimated that 1,800 maternal and 600 neonatal deaths could be prevented after re-opening the maternity ward and resuming services.

Through funds provided by the Government of Australia, UNFPA has also been able to support static and mobile clinics, and to provide life-saving reproductive health services inside West and East Mosul. Approximately 6,500 displaced women are accessing the services every month, including in Hammam Aleel camp, one of the main camps hosting displaced persons from West Mosul. In addition, Australian funding has supported procurement of five ambulances that have been deployed to serve women and girls fleeing and residing inside West Mosul.

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UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, delivers a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every child birth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
For more information or media inquiries please contact:

Sahand Mohammed; Programme Associate; samohammed@unfpa.org