Tell me a little bit about your background, and how you came to be part of CADUS?


My name is Henryk Pich, I am 42 years old and work as an anaesthesist and intensive care physician in a university hospital in Germany. I was in Northern Iraq last year with CADUS to provide emergency aid in the context of the fighting against the IS in Mosul. My colleagues from CADUS did a fantasc job last year at a trauma stabilisaon point (TSP) in Mosul and saved the lives of many Iraqis who were directly affected by the heavy fighting. I have great respect for what they have done there. When I arrived, the fighting for Mosul was over, so I worked as a doctor in a refugee camp around Mosul with people who had escaped from there.

We got in touch with the Khansaa Hospital in Mosul, a large children's and women's hospital, and there we saw the destruction caused by the IS and the fighting in Mosul. We promised our colleagues in Mosul that we would help them and will come back. Due to the polical entanglements after the independence referendum in the Kurdish autonomous region it was somewhat difficult, but now it worked and I was able to hand over a new ultrasound device as a donation in Mosul.

 

How is CADUS providing assistance in Khansaa Hospital?

The main goal of CADUS last year was the trauma care of injured people in Mosul. But even and especially after the fighting in Mosul, help in building a well‐functioning health system is absolutely necessary. Therefore CADUS tries to use its contacts and its experiences to support the "normal" health care in Mosul. But it was also clear that it was not just a matter of simply transferring technology to that place; we also wanted to pass on our experience and knowledge and exchange ideas with our colleagues, train them, point out possible applications and accompany learning processes where they are needed.  Therefore, we have combined the delivery of the ultrasound device with a small course and will continue to make our teaching materials available remotely via the Internet in the future.

 

What do you believe Iraq needs most urgently?

Clearly, peace and security. Where this does not exist, reconstruction and above all reconciliation cannot succeed. Iraq has been a troubled country for years. In recent years it has faced several abysses. Security is needed to build trust in the state and its organs. Security from the IS terrorists, from arbitrariness, from revenge and the trust that there is a state that protects and cares for its people.

 

What more could we be doing as a society for Iraq?

The most important thing is not to forget the people there, to see and acknowledge their great efforts in reconstruction. Mosul had a strong media presence last year, especially during the fierce fighting in early summer. The fighting is over, the security situation has improved significantly and reconstruction is now under way. The eastern part of Mosul is again a relatively lively city. People dare to return to their city from the camps east of Mosul. However, the western part is still on the ground. Reconstruction will cost a lot of time, money and energy. But it is precisely this process of development that we should support intensively, even if Mosul is no longer in the media. Our donation may be very small compared to the other needs, but we also want to show that we have not forgotten you and we believe in you!

 

What might the future look like?

We have many plans. We would like to keep in touch with the Khansaa‐Hospital and expand it in order to be able to help as target‐oriented and needs‐oriented as possible. The colleagues on site are very motivated and committed. However, there is a lack of money and technology. We hope to improve the situation in Iraq and Syria through our contacts to companies and health facilities in Germany and not least by raising donations. And we are very interested in promoting the exchange of knowledge and not only making technology available, but also medical "know‐how". I have much to do with students and medical education at my university and I know the importance of good medical education and training. We would like to support these structures to get them up and running again.