HRPI. A patient who was fitted with an up-to-date prosthetic that will not only be able to grow' with her, but has a technologically advanced knee joint that, with practice, will allow her to walk, run and even play sport.

Prior to the 1991 Gulf War, health conditions in Iraq were comparable to those of other middle or high-middle income countries. The Iraqi health system was considered one of the best in the Middle East. Malnutrition was uncommon, and the country boasted an extensive network of well equipped and well-staffed health care facilities. No country in the region has experienced such a rapid decline in health status and it is clear that Iraq currently faces enormous challenges in this field. While most countries continued to make health gains, health in Iraq deteriorated from previously high levels to one of the worst in the region.

In May 2003, following the fall of the previous regime, IOM initiated and implemented the Medical Evacuation and Health Rehabilitation Programme for Iraq (MEHRPI) The programme coordinated pro-bono medical assistance for select cases requiring specialized, resource-intensive treatment that was not immediately available in Iraq. The programme also contributed to the in-country capacity for the rehabilitation of the national health infrastructure through training and rehabilitation of projects that address identified gaps in health service delivery. The two components of the programme ran concurrently, with the medical evacuations helping to relieve the pressure on the local health care facilities while they were being rehabilitated. See MEHRPI.

Though MEHRPI came to a close on 31 May 2004, the programme continued its medical assistance activities under a new project: the Health Rehabilitation Programme for Iraq (HRPI) The project provided capacity building components for Iraqi medical staff, particularly in the field of specialized health care training, and trained medical staff who will work in the Interventional Cardiology Center which was established in the Talimi Teaching hospital in Basra. The programme also provided capacity building for the Iraqi Ministry of Health in the field of medical evacuation training and facilitation in Baghdad and Basrah.

The establishment of the Interventional Cardiology Centre in Basrah aimed to reduce long waiting lists of patients for procedures that could previously only be performed in Baghdad. This will avoid over-burdening cardiac centers in Baghdad and allow them to focus on more complicated cases.

Partners
The Government of Kuwait, France and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) were major contributors to the funding of this project.