Technicians at the Basra Prosthetics Centre

As one of the longest serving charities in Iraq, Medical Aid for Iraqi Children (MAIC) has delivered medicine and medical equipment to hospitals throughout the country since 1995.  But having been through strict UN sanctions, the 2003 Gulf War and the resulting post-war violence, the charity has decided to wind down and stop its operations.

In response to the collapse of Iraq’s health infrastructure during the 1990s MAIC was founded in 1995 to  improve health conditions for children in Iraq and provide paediatric (children’s) hospitals with medicines and equipment.  Hospitals in Baghdad, Mosul and Basra were asked what medicines were in short supply and what equipment was badly needed.  MAIC then used its funds to buy these medicines and equipment, and made arrangements for their delivery directly to the hospitals.

For the 14 years of their existence MAIC has delivered £3.3m worth of medicines and equipment to over 30 paediatric hospitals all over Iraq. Centrifuge machines to Mosul Blood Bank, diagnostic equipment to Falluja General Hospital, Fluoroscopy machines to Children’s Welfare Teaching Hospital in Baghdad and artificial limb material to Basrah Prosthetic Centre are just a few examples of the  beneficiaries. Most of the aid would travel as airfreight to MAIC’s Jordanian Liaison Committee in Amman who would receive it and organise trucks to drive the aid across the desert to Iraq. To widen their scope, MAIC also began a program in 2006 sponsoring doctors from Iraq to spend four months training in UK hospitals, to date nine doctors have benefited from this program.

Fundraising is always a key task for any charity, but what makes MAIC stand out is the amount of non-Iraqi and non-Muslim involvement it was able to generate. Dr Maya Al-Memar, a member of MAIC’s board of governors, said that the plight of Iraqi children is quite publicised, and consequently receives a lot of sympathy.  In addition to annual Iftars, charity dinners and sponsored marathon runs, there were several schools who donated proceeds from their fun days to MAIC, parishes that made annual contributions and both corporate and charitable organisations that chose MAIC as a beneficiary. One dedicated supporter, Reverend John Stephenson has even written poetry book and sold them so he can donate the profits to the charity.

Dr Al-Memar volunteered with MAIC in 2003 while studying medicine at university. Now a graduate, she describes her volunteer work as “exercise for the soul” and says that being young and in the UK put her in a really privileged position to make a difference to Iraqis, something that cannot be taken for granted.

Undoubtedly there is still massive demand for the kind of help MAIC has provided over the last 14 years. But partly due to new Iraqi Government legislation which makes sending aid more bureaucratic, and partly due to an inability to find a new generation of younger trustees, MAIC has decided to wind up the charity by 30th June 2009. Unfortunately they cannot accept anymore donations and are sending off the last of their shipments. It is a sad end to an organisation that has contributed to such a great cause.

With thanks to Dr Maya Al-Memar for giving her time to be interviewed.