The Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain, represented by the Sayeda Khadija Al-Kubra Specialized Hospital for Women, has signed a technical and administrative cooperation agreement with the Public Health Department of Iraq’s Ministry of Health to implement public health and primary healthcare programs at hospitals affiliated with the Holy Shrine.

During the signing ceremony, Dr. Riyadh Al-Halfi, Director General of the Ministry of Health’s Public Health Department, said the agreement was initiated at the direction of Health Minister Dr. Abdul-Hussein Al-Musawi as part of efforts to expand primary healthcare services. He noted that introducing primary healthcare programs at Sayeda Khadija Al-Kubra Hospital represents a first for Iraq.

Al-Halfi said the initiative will complement the hospital’s existing secondary medical services by incorporating primary and preventive healthcare. The programs will include prenatal care from early pregnancy through delivery, vaccinations, pediatric services, family planning, and other public health initiatives.

He explained that the hospital was selected based on its existing capacity to provide primary healthcare services. The Public Health Department will oversee implementation, train medical and administrative staff, evaluate outcomes, and collect the necessary data and statistics.

Al-Halfi added that the initiative is intended as an ongoing program rather than a project limited to a specific timeframe. Additional health services may be introduced based on the hospital’s capacity and the results achieved, in coordination with health centers serving the surrounding geographical area.

For his part, Dr. Sabah Al-Mousawi, General Supervisor of the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain’s hospitals, said Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi Al-Karbalaey had issued a directive to provide comprehensive medical and healthcare services at the Shrine’s facilities in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.

Al-Mousawi described the initiative, developed in partnership with the Public Health Department, as an integrated model combining primary and secondary healthcare services for women and children receiving care at the hospital. He said implementing public health programs at a non-governmental hospital for the first time in Iraq could pave the way for expanding the initiative to other hospitals affiliated with the Holy Shrine.

He added that the hospital, in cooperation with the Public Health Department, had prepared the necessary infrastructure, specialized personnel, equipment, and supplies to implement the programs following a series of coordination meetings and preparatory arrangements.

The project is now underway, with a timeline established for implementing and completing its various programs.