Implementing Emergency Medical Services in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region
Having a medical emergency in Iraq’s Kurdistan region could be a problem, unless you knew the person in the Health Ministry to call to get an ambulance dispatched. The World Bank partnered with the Kurdistan Ministry of Health to change this situation.
The solution involved establishing emergency medical Emergency Communications Center (ECC) in three cities in the region—Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk, linked by a radio network. UNOPS or the United Nations Office for Project Services, for the World Bank, contracted with Winbourne Consulting to prepare the plan and support the implementation.
The Kurdistan Emergency Medical Communications Response system included radio, telecommunications, and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD)/Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) systems. The Response System provided communications between the Emergency Communications Centers in the three cities. The radio network provided connectivity in 14 cities across Kurdistan. Radio communications equipment was installed in each ambulance for communications with the ECCs. The system supported 300 ambulances.
