Since 2018, one year after the liberation of Mosul from Daesh control, Un Ponte Per has set itself the goal of supporting communities in the Nineveh Governorate by providing psychosocial support, mental health and reproductive health services for women. Thus was born 'Salamtak' (Your Health), thanks to the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), now in its 4th phase.
During Phase IV, access to reproductive and maternal and child health services will continue to be improved for communities in the Governorate. The activities will be concentrated in the Bashiqa Health Centre and in the primary health centres of Hermat (west Mosul) and Hammam Al Alil (south Mosul) where a new 24/7 maternal and child health unit will be activated with 4 doctors and 4 midwives and an ambulance service always operational for obstetric and neonatal emergencies. Mental health and psychological support services will be offered in the Bashiqa Centre and the Hermat Primary Health Centre, with psychologists employed to conduct individual and group sessions with local people.
In the Al Hurok hospital (west Mosul), on the other hand, two emergency rooms (one for women and one for men) will be set up dedicated to burns, another plague afflicting the local population due to the numerous unexploded ordnance and mines. In order to contribute to the prevention of communicable diseases, awareness sessions will be organised in schools in the communities around the health facilities concerned. More than 8,000 people will benefit from the health services, while 83 medical and paramedical staff members will be directly involved in training and capacity building activities. Finally, the Batol and Al Jumhori hospitals, both in West Mosul, will see a rehabilitation of their water facilities to reduce the risks of wastewater disposal, and a new system of proper chemical and medical waste management will be inaugurated.
Phase III of the project supported the presence of medical personnel, psychologists and social workers at 3 health centres in Mosul (Primary Health Care in Hermat in west Mosul, Primary Health Care in Nimrud, Hamdaniya and Ma'an Na'ud centre in Bashiqa, sub-district of Mosul). A new Department of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support of approximately 200 square metres was built and equipped at the Al Salam Teaching Hospital in Mosul, allowing a 277% increase in the number of services offered. During the year, access to reproductive health services was provided to approximately 2,950 women and adolescents between Mosul, Nimrud and Bashiqa, along with 727 children who were able to access paediatric services at the Bashiqa centre. While psychosocial support provided 318 group support sessions and 843 individual counselling sessions.
Phases I and II of the project saw the improvement of primary and secondary health services, to which over 12,000 people had access. More than 3,000 women and girls accessed reproductive health and psychosocial support services, while 1,800 were followed up with individual psychological assistance.
