New equipment arrives at Iraq's Mosul hospital

Shafaq News - Nineveh

Two linear accelerators have arrived at the Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Hospital in western Mosul, Nineveh’s Director General of Health, Dilshad Ali, confirmed on Tuesday.

“These advanced devices will begin operation in the coming months after installation is completed,” Ali noted to Shafaq News, describing the development as a historic step for Mosul’s healthcare sector.

A linear accelerator is a medical device that delivers high-energy X-rays or electrons to precisely target and destroy cancer cells, while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

He also highlighted that the hospital already hosts three linear accelerators, a modern radiation device, and 33 isolation rooms. The upgrade, he added, part of the Directorate’s expansion of cancer treatment services, ''will allow patients from Nineveh and nearby provinces to receive care locally, further reducing the need to travel elsewhere.''

Iraq has been steadily investing in its health system in recent years. In 2024, the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization opened 15 new hospitals and 43 specialized centers, while health insurance coverage grew from 300,000 to more than 770,000 people within a year.

The country now has around 450 hospitals, including 250 public and 164 private facilities.