Jalawla General Hospital in north-eastern Diyala province was officially restored to service on January 10th, the Iraqi Ministry of Health announced.

The hospital, one of the largest in the province, was heavily damaged by the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) when it overran Diyala four years ago, said Diyala Health Directorate communications director Faris al-Azzawi.

Rehabilitation work began a year later, after ISIS was ousted, he told Diyaruna.

"Due to the massive level of destruction to the main section of the hospital and its wings, only a limited range of services was offered to patients," he said.

The hospital in its entirety has been rehabilitated and outfitted with modern equipment to allow for routine medical examinations and surgeries.

"The hospital is functioning today at full capacity, offering medical services to around 100,000 people living in the city of Jalawla and the Hamreen basin area," he said.

The 50-bed facility offers treatment for a range of emergency and serious medical conditions as well as complex surgical procedures, al-Azzawi noted.

Reopening healthcare facilities

"With the rehabilitation of this hospital building, there only remains the general hospital in the nearby city of al-Saadiya, which is another hospital ravaged by ISIS militants in Diyala," al-Azzawi said.

Work on al-Saadiya's 30-bed hospital is almost complete, he said.

While Jalawla Hospital was out of service, the Diyala Health Directorate reopened a health centre in al-Adhim in the Hamreen basin, al-Azzawi said.

All the rehabilitated hospitals and medical centres are now fully staffed, he said.

The Jalawla Hospital rehabilitation included several departments and buildings, said Omar al-Karawi, who represents the Hamreen basin on the Diyala provincial council.

"This includes operation rooms, emergency units, maternity wards, ICUs, examination and X-ray departments, as well as the central clinic," he told Diyaruna.

Most of the buildings had been reduced to a pile of rubble, he said, adding that medical equipment and contents had been looted by ISIS elements.

The Diyala Health Directorate has provided a range of medical equipment to the hospital including MRIs, CT scanners and X-ray machines, he said, in addition to medicine, vaccines and first-aid supplies.

Serving the local population

The hospital was rehabilitated with direct support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and other international organisations, while Doctors Without Borders (MSF) conducted training sessions for medical staff.

The reopening of Jalawla Hospital will help families "who have had to travel long distances to get to hospitals in Baqubah and al-Muqdadiya", Diyala provincial council member Khodr Muslim told Diyaruna.

The hospital reconstruction is part of the stability campaign overseen by Diyala's local government, he said, which aims to rebuild areas affected by ISIS.

The hospital has started to receive a daily intake of patients.

"We are now relieved," said Jalawla resident Mayada Ali, 50, who came with her husband to receive treatment for joint pain. "I cannot imagine how we would be if the hospital had not been rehabilitated."