{"id":128193,"date":"2026-05-23T23:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/128193\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T23:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:25:11","slug":"digital-networks-bridge-iraqs-massive-healthcare-gaps-shafaq-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/128193\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital networks bridge Iraq\u2019s massive healthcare gaps – Shafaq News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n 2026-05-23T22:44:27+00:00<\/p>\n

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Shafaq News-
\nAl-Anbar <\/p>\n

A growing
\nnumber of vulnerable Iraqi families are turning to social media and informal
\naid networks as rising medical costs and limited institutional support widen
\ngaps in access to urgent care, pushing grassroots initiatives into a central
\nrole in humanitarian response.<\/p>\n

Civil and
\nhuman rights activist Suleiman al-Kubaisi has been active in this field since
\n2017, documenting cases of poor families, orphans, widows, and people with
\ndisabilities, connecting them with donors through fieldwork and digital
\noutreach.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial
\nmedia platforms have become the main infrastructure for this form of aid,
\nfunctioning as both a space to document need and a mechanism to mobilize
\ndonations,\u201d he told Shafaq News, clarifying that the process typically begins
\non the ground, through home visits or direct messages from families in need.<\/p>\n

Cases are
\nthen verified and circulated online before being turned into fundraising
\nappeals designed to secure treatment costs, surgeries, or basic living expenses.<\/p>\n

Over the
\nyears, his initiatives have contributed to the distribution of more than 800
\nelectric and manual wheelchairs across Al-Anbar, Nineveh, Baghdad, Diyala,
\nSaladin, Kirkuk, Basra, Dhi Qar, and Al-Qadisiyah. Hundreds of surgical
\nprocedures for critically ill patients have also been supported through the
\nsame network.<\/p>\n

Read more: Iraq’s fee-for-service crisis: Citizens pay more while receiving less<\/a><\/p>\n

Beyond
\nmedical assistance, the work includes monthly food distributions, sponsorship
\nof struggling families, and housing renovation and reconstruction projects for
\ndisplaced and low-income households.<\/p>\n

\u201cFunding
\nremains largely dependent on individual donations within Iraq and online
\ncrowdfunding campaigns,\u201d he remarked, citing that in some cases, support came
\nfrom Iraqi officials or political entities.<\/p>\n

Medical
\nexpenses, however, often exceed what can be raised. In several cases,
\nfundraising campaigns fall short, resulting in delayed treatment or incomplete
\ncoverage, particularly for complex surgical procedures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are
\ncases where fundraising does not cover the full cost,\u201d al-Kubaisi explained,
\ndescribing situations where patients are left waiting for additional support or
\nforced to postpone care, leaving families in prolonged uncertainty.<\/p>\n

While
\nconcerns about transparency and long-term sustainability persist, these
\ngrassroots efforts continue to expand as demand for medical and social support
\ngrows. The result, he observed, is a ”fragmented but active relief system” where
\nindividuals, digital platforms, and donor networks intersect to bridge
\npersistent gaps in care and assistance.<\/p>\n

Read more: Iraq\u2019s healthcare system nears collapse: Doctors leave, hospitals overflow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026-05-23T22:44:27+00:00 font Enable Reading Mode A- A A+ Shafaq News- Al-Anbar A growing number of vulnerable Iraqi families…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[14],"tags":[43198,8699,6318,94,1048,43199],"class_list":["post-128193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iraq","tag-digital-networks-bridge-iraqs-massive-healthcare-gaps","tag-donation","tag-healthcare","tag-iraq","tag-social-media","tag-social-welfare"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116626477878209032","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}