Zacho, IRAQ—On October 24, 2004, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office in Turkey delivered eight tons of essential medicines to the Western Ninewa Province of Iraq.  The medicines will assist three major public hospitals and 37 primary health clinics serving approximately 770,000 people in the cities of Telafer, Sinjar, Al-Ba’aj, and surrounding areas.

ADRA Turkey staff traveled to Iraq for the handover of drugs and are coordinating the project from Istanbul.  The medicines were handed over to Iraqi health officials at the border of Iraq and Turkey where 16 representatives from the region and five workers came to receive their share of drugs. The handover took place under tight security. The Ministry of Health (MoH) Facility Protection Service (FPS) escorted the medicines to the project area.

The project grant comes from the German Government and ADRA Germany and is valued at $192,000. During Phase I, II and III of this project, ADRA shipped over 45 tons of medicines and other medical supplies to the region. ADRA Turkey is the implementing and logistic partner for this project initiated in partnership with ADRA Germany and ADRA Iraq. The Iraqi Ministry of Health, who granted ADRA special permission to send medical support to the Western Ninewa Province, facilitated project implementation.

“These drugs were very much needed and arrived at the right time. We appreciate, by all means, ADRA’s…and [the] German Government’s humanitarian efforts toward our people. We hope your support will continue for us to pass this hard time for our country. God bless you,” wrote Dr. Fawzi M. Mohammad, director of the Telafer Hospital.  In a letter of thanks, Dr. Keffah Katoo, director of Sinjar Hospital wrote, “The people of Sinjar and I will not forget [ADRA’s] humanitarian acts for us, our children, and for our future.”

The number of outpatients served by the three hospitals receiving the medicines exceeds 37,500 people plus 3,425 in-patients.  The recipient primary health clinics care for over 92,600 outpatients.

ADRA is present in more than 120 countries providing individual and community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, or ethnicity.

Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org.

(Simona and Alex Balint – ADRA Turkey)