HEALTHCARE
In 2013, AMAR ran six mobile health clinics, one health post and 23 primary health care centres across Iraq, four of which focused on tuberculosis. The mobile clinics look after maternal and child health, offering vaccinations, food supplements and health consultations to children, mothers, pregnant women and anyone else in need. They also support better water sanitation by distributing chlorine tablets, and provide health education through lectures and printed materials. Across Iraq, 52,244 vaccinations were given and 285,598 health consultations were carried out.
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
AMAR's Women Health Volunteers (WHVs) keep delivering reproductive healthcare across Iraq. In 2013 the project operated in Basra, Maysa and Thi-Qar provinces, where 240 WHVs reached around 8,500 families and 30,000 individual beneficiaries. The WHVs talk with women about family planning and support pregnant women and new mothers. They also tackle the harmful effects of traditional social beliefs and practices — for instance, restrictions on women seeking medical advice without a male relative present, reluctance to discuss puberty, or the use of kohl on newborn babies' eyes.
HEALTH EDUCATION
AMAR's Health Education in Schools programme ran in 100 primary and secondary schools in 2013. More than 4,000 sessions took place in schools that year, reaching an average of 4,100 pupils each month. The curriculum, developed by AMAR in close partnership with the Ministries of Health and Education, delivers regular teaching on health issues affecting pupils, their families and local communities. By building knowledge and raising awareness of the public health services available, the programme supports lasting improvements to community health and wellbeing. Alongside school-based work, AMAR continued community health education: over 550 sessions were held in 2013 and more than 6,000 educational materials were distributed in the communities visited.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
25,000 Iraqis received regular education and training, among them children, students, widows, female heads of households, prisoners and prison guards. AMAR was chosen as one of three UNESCO implementing partners for the Educate a Child Initiative, which aims to bring 8,500 out-of-school children into mainstream education in Baghdad and Basra Governorates. By the end of 2013, AMAR had identified and set up classes in 50 schools, enrolled the first 2,538 children, and recruited and trained 20 master trainers and 178 teachers. AMAR also arranged field visits for the children and ran four workshops plus a range of community mobilisation activities to build families' understanding of and support for their children's education.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RULE OF LAW (HRRL) PROJECT
AMAR pioneered an award-winning education programme teaching prisoners, their guards and other beneficiaries about human rights and the rule of law. The scheme ran for three years and concluded in November 2013. It trained 1,882 prisoners — including 351 women and 569 juveniles — along with 711 prison guards. 550 of those prisoners also received literacy and numeracy training, giving them opportunities to improve their livelihoods after release. The respected British human rights lawyer and Queen's Counsel, Baroness Kennedy, carried out an independent evaluation of the programme and gave it the highest praise. In early 2014 AMAR won the International Aid and Development category at the prestigious
AMAR's programmes in Iraq span healthcare, reproductive health, school and community health education, training and human rights. Each strand is designed to reach families directly — through clinics, volunteers, classrooms and prisons — so that knowledge and support reach the people who need them most.