IRAQ: Children's hospital struggling in wake of bombing

'BAGHDAD, 24 January (IRIN) - The country's main children's hospital is operating at less than one third of its capacity after a bomb attack nearly a month ago, say doctors.

The Children's Central Teaching Hospital in the capital, Baghdad, was hit by a suicide bomb targeting a police official on 19 December. Two security guards and ten staff members were injured in the attack.

"The explosion hit the emergency clinic causing major damage in the surgical departments, laboratories and patients' rooms, and destroyed much of the medical equipment," said hospital director Shehab Ahmed al-Azawi.

The teaching hospital, which avoided being hit in past conflicts, is Iraq's only hospital specialised in children's medicine."
Reuters