UIMS President Meets with Anbar Director General of Health to Discuss Implementation Plan for the National Campaign to Establish and Equip a PET Scan Unit at Anbar Oncology Center
Anbar – Media Office of the United Iraqi Medical Society for Relief and Development (UIMS)
As part of ongoing efforts to develop specialized healthcare services and strengthen the capabilities of medical institutions in Anbar Governorate, Dr. Ahmed Al-Hiti, President of the United Iraqi Medical Society for Relief and Development (UIMS), met with Dr. Khudair Khalaf Shallal, Director General of the Anbar Health Directorate, in the presence of Dr. Nabil, Director of Anbar Oncology Center. The meeting focused on prospects for cooperation and coordination regarding the national “Giving That Keeps on Giving” campaign, implemented in partnership with the Ahbab Al-Mustafa Foundation, which aims to establish and equip a fully integrated unit for a Positron Emission Tomography (PET Scan) scanner at Anbar Oncology Center.
During the meeting, the comprehensive project implementation plan was reviewed. The plan includes mobilizing financial resources through a national fundraising campaign and community and institutional partnerships, as well as establishing a fully integrated medical unit that meets the necessary engineering, technical, and operational requirements to accommodate the scanner. This will be followed by the equipment procurement, installation, commissioning, and training of specialized medical and technical personnel.
The Director General of the Anbar Health Directorate was also briefed on the campaign’s implementation framework and proposed coordination mechanisms with relevant health authorities. These efforts aim to ensure an integrated approach among government institutions, civil society organizations, and the private sector, while facilitating the requirements for implementing the project in accordance with approved medical specifications and official regulations.
Dr. Ahmed Al-Hiti emphasized that the project represents a shift from limited-impact healthcare initiatives toward sustainable strategic projects that contribute to developing medical infrastructure. He noted that the campaign aims not merely to provide a diagnostic scanner, but to establish a fully integrated specialized unit that strengthens Anbar Oncology Center’s capacity to diagnose cancer and monitor patients in accordance with approved medical guidelines.
The meeting also addressed the project’s importance in improving access to specialized diagnostic services for cancer patients within Anbar Governorate, reducing the burden of traveling to other governorates to undergo the necessary examinations, strengthening the medical referral system, and enabling patients referred from other Iraqi governorates to benefit from the unit’s services in accordance with applicable health regulations and instructions.
This meeting forms part of the institutional and technical preparations for the national “Giving That Keeps on Giving” campaign, implemented by UIMS in cooperation with the Ahbab Al-Mustafa Foundation and in coordination with the relevant health authorities. The campaign aims to mobilize national efforts and community resources to deliver a specialized medical project that serves cancer patients and strengthens the sustainability of specialized healthcare services in Iraq.
UIMS emphasizes that investment in healthcare infrastructure is a long-term investment in human health, and that partnerships between official institutions and civil society are fundamental to transforming humanitarian initiatives into tangible, sustainable development projects.
