A New Lease of Life for War Wounded
Team Effort: Swisscross chief surgeon, Dr Walter Kunzi works with local plastic surgeon Dr Alla Shukur to reconstruct the hand of a Peshmerga veteran, who had seven previous surgeries for severe burns following a car crash.
Injuries that result from conflict can be some of the most challenging wounds healthcare teams face. All too often healthcare professionals with the most basic capacities and facilities in conflict zones are the first to receive war wounded people.
In such circumstances - where local healthcare has been ravaged by war - those injured can face delayed treatment for fractured bone, burned skin, and massive injuries rarely seen in normal life.
The Swisscross Foundation was established in the belief that despite fragmented healthcare systems in fragile settings, local healthcare communities and wounded civilians deserve continued support to recover from conflict. We believe regional centres for complex care can help restore healthcare capacities to manage and care for the most vulnerable populations affected by injuries as a result of war and conflict.
THE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR COMPLEX CARE, ERBIL, IRAQ
Complex surgery requires coordination between many healthcare providers from surgery, nursing, anaesthesia, rehabilitation, mental health, home care, to the many other professionals who support restoring form and function.This is best accomplished in Centres for Complex Care.
At the beginning of 2021, Swisscross decided that with very few options for vulnerable communities injured in conflict and fragmented healthcare systems in war ravaged countries, we would aim to work with local providers and establish a centre for complex care.
We visited Erbil, Iraq in April 2021, and following months of high-level discussions with government and non-governmental agencies in Iraq, and securing a remarkable partnership with UAE Aid, we launched the Centre of Excellence for Complex Care in Erbil in September 2021.
Treat, Teach & Train: Swisscross Founder, Dr Enrique Steiger training our two local doctors and field officers, Dr Sarezh Saber and Dr Lass Azad in Erbil, Iraq.
THE IMPACT
Within weeks of the launch, Swisscross, working closely with local agencies and NGOs including KRG Ministry of Health, Barzani Charity Foundation and SWEDO, who work across refugee and displacement settings in the Kurdistan region, Nadia's Initiative which advocates for survivors of sexual violence and rebuilding communities in crisis, we had received over 548 patient referrals. Over 90% patients were refugees or internally displaced and all could not afford treatment.
In a close effort with local healthcare providers, surgeons, nurses and staff at Zheen International Hospital, the base for the Centre, we demonstrated that providing reconstructive surgery in a coordinated push has sustainable impact.
Swisscross’ Global Medical Corps - a pool of specialized health care workers, standardizing clinical protocols and medical logistics - working alongside local healthcare professionals in Erbil were able to screen hundreds of patients and perform 50 surgeries in 12 days during the first complex care mission in November 2021.
In an effort to strengthen and build local healthcare capacities, Swisscross also hired two local doctors in Erbil and continues to work with teaching hospitals to share knowledge and form collaborations to create sustainable and long-term solutions in the circle of care.
THE YEAR AHEAD
In 2022, Swisscross will look to increase our missions for reconstructive surgery in Erbil, working with and collaborating with local providers. We want to build closer relationships with teaching hospitals and aim to provide training to young doctors in the region. We will continue to reconnect local healthcare communities to regional and global networks, working towards providing a new lease of life to the most vulnerable war wounded.
