KRG to build two hospitals in Erbil city, health official says

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will build two public hospitals in the center of Erbil city this year, a health official said on Sunday.

Dlovan Mohammed, the Director-General of Erbil’s health department, said in a statement that one of the facilities is a children’s hospital, “which will provide pediatric and obstetrics services.”

“The hospital will be built by an individual donor, and the KRG will design the facility and provide the appropriate land for it to be built on,” Mohammed added. 

According to the health official, the second facility will be a psychiatric hospital built in the city center that provides additional medical treatment and services.

“The second hospital will be built according to international standards. Although it will focus on patients with mental disorders, it will also treat all kinds of patients, provide consultation, and services,” he explained.   

Mohammed explained that due to the economic crisis in the Kurdistan Region during the past few years, the government was unable to build more public hospitals. However, if the budget is available, the “public hospital numbers will increase according to the region’s needs.”

Dealing with multiple crises, especially from 2014 onward, the KRG’s finances became increasingly strained when the so-called Islamic State overran a large part of northern Iraq. Furthermore, relations with Baghdad deteriorated, reaching a near-breaking point in late 2017 when Iraqi troops and militias took over disputed areas in response to the region’s independence vote.

Issues such as the central government cutting the region’s share of the national budget, the influx of almost two million displaced people and refugees to the region, and the fight against the Islamic State limited funding to various projects throughout the region.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany