IMPROVING WOMEN’S HEALTH ACROSS THE KURDISTAN REGION THROUGH THE CENTRE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN WOMEN’S HEALTH (CREWH)

The inauguration of the Center for Research and Education in Women’s Health (CREWH) took place in Erbil, Iraq Kurdistan on the 24th of May 2017 under the patronage of Hawler Medical University and the ministry of health (MoH). The CREWH is part of Hawler Medical University and works towards improving women’s health across the Kurdistan region.

Dr. Hamdia Ahmed, president of the CREWH, outlined the need for this centre during her speech: [The] CREWH will advocate women’s health and development through education, research, capacity building and community projects. [The] CREWH was established to be a leading center dedicated to advocate women’s health and development with the academic institution and across the community.

Several speakers representing academics, official and international organisations, as well as the chairman of the party, president and professors of the university, the ministry of health, and the CREWH’s staff outlined the importance of such a centre and its role to improve the health and well-being of women in the community.

Professor Ibrahim Labouta also attended the event. During his speech, Prof. Labouta, addressed the critical importance of the development of a 5-year strategy, building the capacity of the staff in outcomes research and introducing information technology such as registries into this strategy.

Speeches by the representatives of UN Women and WHO further appraised the opening of the centre and emphasised its future role in enhancing the health and status of women in Kurdistan.

This event highlighted the importance of bringing together researchers, clinicians, outcomes research experts, international organisations and communities to promote women’s health through research, training, advocacy and community research projects. It also covered the following topics/issues:

• • Identifying strategies for improving women’s health
  • Exploring future business opportunities
  • Exploiting the competitive pharmaceutical market
  • Getting an insight of the needs of Kurdistan region in terms of outcomes and clinical research and training
  • Getting to know the latest regulatory developments, key indicators and major corporate developments

To find out more about the CREWH, visit http://hmu.edu.krd/WomensHealth.aspx or contact crewh@hmu.edu.krd