The new mental health and psychosocial support department at Al Salam hospital in eastern Mosul will be inaugurated on 23 December.

The realization of the work was made possible thanks to the financing of the Italian Cooperation (Aics) in support of the “Salamtak 3” (Your health) project, implemented by Un Ponte Per (Upp). Before the occupation of the Islamic State and the complete destruction of the building in 2017, Al Salam hospital was the largest in the Mosul area. Since the end of 2017, the hospital has been receiving external support aimed at the reconstruction and re-establishment of essential services. The hospital receives between 6.000 and 10.000 patients daily from all over the Nineveh governorate. From today the Mental Health Department will have approximately 240 m7 of new inclusive spaces, new equipment that will allow cognitive therapies, pharmacological treatments, psychological assessments and support for medical and school committees. The entire department has been completely moved to the new building which has 8 rooms, with the addition of 10.145 beds, dedicated to the variety of services offered. Since February, thanks to the project, over 3.000 people have been reached, many of whom had post-traumatic stress and various types of disorders. More than 1.000 women, adolescents and children had access to reproductive health services and specific pediatric consultations, thanks to the presence of psychologists, gynecologists, sonographers and paediatricians. Furthermore, approximately 3 sessions of individual and collective psychosocial support were guaranteed. Thanks to the new department, Al Salam hospital will become the nerve center for mental health in the city of Mosul, which will also include the other two hospitals in the city that provide these services. “Salamtak 2014” is part of a broader framework of interventions and specialist services that Upp, thanks to the support of Aics, has been carrying out in Iraq, and in particular in the Nineveh Plain and Mosul, since the beginning of the humanitarian emergency in XNUMX .