The CMC hospital in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), was able to hire 27 doctors, nurses and medical staff to help save lives in the fight against COVID-19, after receiving support from Headway Programme’s Job Creation in KRI grant scheme. The project is funded by the European Union’s (EU) Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syria Crisis, ‘Madad Fund,’ and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Governorate of Erbil and Rwanga Foundation.

Rayan Salar, one of the newly recruited staff, said: “My responsibility in the hospital is to manage the pharmacy and the accounting of the emergency department. Before being hired by the CMC hospital, I have been unemployed for a while. Now, I am very pleased because I serve the patients and have a job that benefits my people and the society.”

Amid the global health pandemic, supporting the hospital helped patients and the health sector, while creating jobs and providing livelihood opportunities including for unemployed youth and women.

“Getting this job was very important to me because I had no source of income and had been unemployed for a long time, which created a huge pressure on me,” said Ali Kareem. He now works as a hospital porter.

Roshna Yousif, who was hired to assist in the patient care services department, added: “Many people lost their jobs due to the outbreak of COVID-19, but we continued to work and provide services to patients. This job provides me with income to help my family.” She explained the nature of her job, saying: “When patients encounter any problems, they inform our department to take action.”

In turn, Human Resources Officer at the CMC hospital, Akam Omer, commented: “It was a very good opportunity for us. We had many ideas to expand the services of the hospital but could not cover the necessary costs. With the grant, we were able to take a step forward, adding modern standards and skills to better serve the patients.”

The story of the CMC hospital was reflected on social media as part of the awareness campaign, Let’s Beat Corona. The campaign was implemented both under Headway and the EU-funded programme Supporting Recovery and Stability in Iraq through Local Development.

The Job Creation in KRI grant scheme was launched in late 2019. As of July 2020, 56 businesses were supported to hire 661 people in the Governorates of Erbil, Duhok, Sulaimaniyah and Halabja. The new recruits include 92 Syrian refugees, 472 host community members and 97 internally displaced people (IDPs), of whom 221 are females.

To learn more, visit the Job Creation in KRI website: https://www.headwayjobs.com, and download the Headway Programme fact sheet: https://bit.ly/2J4h8Ta.