WHO: Civil unrest leaves Iraqi population at risk for disease

The humanitarian situation in Iraq has deteriorated dramatically within the past few days, and WHO is concerned about the expected further decline of access to human resources and the likely result of disease spread, according to a statement from the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office based in Cairo.

WHO is working with local and international partners in Iraq to meet the urgent health needs of populations affected by the ongoing crisis, especially in Ninewa, Salaheddin and Diyala provinces. More than 500,000 people are estimated to have fled their homes in Mosul and surrounding areas, and an estimated 100,000 have entered Erbil and 200,000 have fled to Dohuk.

Current estimates indicate that hundreds of thousands more are stranded at checkpoints with no belongings or money for housing, food, water or medical care. Many of these individuals have no access to drinking water because the main water station for the city of Mosul was destroyed by bombing. Food shortages are also being reported, according to WHO.

Immediate and critical health risks of concern to WHO include the spread of measles, which is endemic in Mosul, and could potentially lead to outbreaks — especially in overcrowded areas where internally displaced individuals are located. The spread of polio is also a high risk as new cases were reported in the country earlier this year as a result of the crisis in Syria.

WHO has strengthened its disease early warning alert and response system in Kurdistan and Mosul in an attempt to monitor disease outbreaks, and is also launching emergency polio and measles vaccination activities for those who are internally displaced and have directorates of health in Dohuk and Erbil.

Water and sanitation services are likely to be interrupted and could lead to an increased risk of waterborne diseases as temperatures there rise during the coming summer months. WHO is currently assessing the risk of epidemics in affected areas and is creating systems to rapidly respond and contain disease outbreaks.

According to an initial rapid assessment of health facilities in Mosul, three of the city’s seven hospitals are partially functional due to lack of human resources and funding. The remainder, including a pediatric hospital and a surgical hospital, are fully functional. Thirty-seven of 40 primary health clinics in that city are operational. As the crisis continues, however, access to health facilities for populations in Mosul may be a challenge.

WHO is offering medical supplies for mobile clinics in Dohuk and has provided interagency emergency health kits with medicines and medical supplies for 20,000 people for 3 months, trauma kits to treat 200 people, and diarrheal disease kits for the treatment of 200 people with severe diarrheal disease or 400 people with moderate diarrheal disease.

“The impact of the unfolding armed conflict in Mosul and neighboring districts on the health of affected population cannot be underestimated. These developments are expected to result in critical health consequences,” Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO representative in Iraq, said in a press release. “The response to the health needs of those affected by the crisis requires concerted actions from all partners."