Iraqi Children Foundation Intervenes to Keep Doors Open at Fallujah Clinic for Disabled Children

May 29, 2023 – The Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF) has received a generous grant to rescue a clinic serving disabled children in Fallujah, Iraq. The clinic, which was in danger of closing, serves children and adults with disabilities. A team from ICF visited the clinic last October and provided a life-line of emergency funds earlier this year. With the new grant, ICF is thrilled to be able to fund the clinic's care for disabled children on a sustained basis. ICF has helped disabled children in the past but this is - by far - the largest project for disabled children that ICF has ever launched.

A 15-year old girl, with a beautiful smile, has brain atrophy that makes it difficult for her to move. She feels she is a burden to her family and faces challenges from society. When she learned about the Fallujah clinic, she went for a visit and received free services and a wheelchair. She dreams one day of walking and having her own children.

In the first quarter of 2023, 83% of patients served at the Fallujah clinic were children. Cases the clinic handles include paralysis, social and behavioral conditions including severe autism spectrum disorder, hearing and visual impairment, and disabilities as a result of injury. Birth defects are a major issue, with some cases resulting from consanguine marriage.

ICF is honored to once again to partner with its long-time, trusted Iraqi NGO partner - the Iraq Health Access Organization (IHAO) - with ICF funding services for children and IHAO funding services for adults. IHAO is led by an alumnus of the prestigious US Fulbright scholarship program and was awarded the Richard C. Holbrooke Leadership award by Refugees International in Washington, DC in 2018.

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ICF is a non-partisan, non-sectarian tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity, rated Platinum on Guidestar and listed on the US Government’s Combined Federal Campaign (#95191). To learn more, visit www.iraqichildren.org, email Executive Director McRae at liz@iraqichildren.org, or call 703.635.7990.