One of these institutions was the health sector institution. The health sector is one of the most important sectors because it has a direct relationship with the lives of citizens. Through this sector, services are provided to children, young people, the elderly, and the disabled, and their longevity and well-being are dependent on the level of services provided through these sectors.
In the sixties of the last century, the Situation in Kurdistan in general was at its worst, and the liberated areas under the authority of the revolution were much worse, because it was besieged from all sides and the government of Iraq did not allow any tools, equipment, or medicine to enter the liberated areas, so the Provision of medicine for more than twenty thousand Peshmerga and more than one million citizens was extremely difficult.
In addition to this, illnesses such as: malaria, tuberculosis, and digestive system diseases were very widespread; children, in particular, were suffering from these conditions. Therefore, according to the information of Emmanuel Braquet, who had visited the areas under the control of the revolution at that time, he says that %50 of children die, and for adults, he points out that the age of citizens is between 40 and 50 years, and he attributes the cause of this short lifespan to the prevalence of Illness and the lack of medicine and treatment.
Regarding the number of doctors; during the September Revolution, the number of literate people among the Kurd nation was not high, and those who held degrees in medical departments were very few, and those who had joined the revolution from the beginning were rare. According to information in the liberated areas, there were only four doctors working for the revolution. Among them Dr. Mahmoud Osman who is very busy with his political responsibilities and works less in the medical field. The other three doctors were Dr. Hikmat Hakim, Dr. Ahmed Shali, and Dr. Hassan.
Dr. Hikmat Hakim, who was a Christian Kurd and was 38 years old in 1964 and graduated from the University of Damascus, preferred to work as a doctor rather than focusing on administrative and political work. Dr. Hikmat was a doctor and a Lieutenant Colonel in the army of Iraq. On June 10, 1963, like thousands of Kurds, he was arrested by the Baathists and was about to be executed. A group of Peshmerga, by attacking the convoy of Iraqi vehicles, rescued him while he was transporting prisoners. From that day on, he completely devoted himself, body and soul, to the revolution and left his wife and children in Erbil.
Because the number of doctors did not exceed the fingers of one hand and there was only one general surgeon in all of Kurdistan, the positions of doctors were necessarily filled by nurses, and the nurses were both male and female, who numbered about 40 people by the autumn of 1966. From that date, the medical service unit opened a nursing school. 30 students graduated and received certificates after an intensive three-month course that was more practical than theoretical. Due to the Situation, these nurses managed small clinics and pharmacies.
For a long time, the revolution was like this in terms of the number of health personnel, but later dozens of citizens left the universities, centers, and hospitals of Baghdad and joined the revolution. Also, more than three hundred students in medical departments left their studies and joined the ranks of the revolution.
Due to the increase in the number of nurses, who were also called doctors within the revolution, every battalion of the Kurdistan Revolutionary Army had a pharmacy, and the nurses treated the Peshmerga and citizens of the area under the control of their battalions as much as they could. There were also pharmacies in important centers. Two to three times a year, the nurses would go to the headquarters of the administrative body to receive their share of medicine and first aid, although those who were in remote areas were sent those medical supplies directly.
As for the level of health services in the areas under the authority of the revolution, the low number of doctors and hospitals, the difficulty of obtaining medicine, and the existence of a siege on the liberated areas help us to visualize the level of service that was provided to 20 thousand Peshmerga and more than a million citizens.
The source of medicine and medical supplies came through several ways. Due to the good relationship between the revolution and the government of Iran, the government of Iran helped the revolution in terms of health and provided some medicine, and some of the wounded whose wounds were severe were sent to Iran and treated there.
Also, the revolution allocated a part of the small amount of money it had to buy very necessary medicine, which was brought in by smuggling from either Iraq or neighboring Country, and the Peshmerga and citizens were treated with it.
The third source of medicine for the liberated areas was the International Red Cross. At the beginning of the revolution, the Red Cross, under the pretext that the liberated areas were part of the Country of Iraq and that all aid must be delivered through Baghdad, because the Iraqi government did not accept it, no Red Cross aid reached those areas. After much effort by the revolutionary leadership, especially the Europe branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the Red Cross becoming acquainted with the tragedies that more than a million citizens were suffering from, the International Red Cross occasionally sent medical equipment and medicine to the liberated areas, which were then sent to hospitals by the health institution of the revolution as needed.
Sending medicine by members of the urban organizations, those who worked in the health sector of Iraq and had not yet joined the revolution, was the fourth source of medical supplies that reached the authority of the revolution.
We must point out that despite the fact that the health institution in the liberated areas received medicine from various sources, due to the small amount of medicine received and the large number of Peshmerga and citizens, the health Situation in the areas under the control of the revolution was not as required.
In the liberated areas of the revolution, there are three hospitals: the first is located in the Military area of the Kawa Force, which is managed by Dr. Hikmat Hakim. The second is in Mawet in the Military area of the Khabat Force, which is managed by Dr. Ahmad Shali. The third is in Nawprdan in the Military area of the Balaka Force, managed by Dr. Hassan, who is an Arab and a native of the city of Baghdad.. These facilities, due to their small size and lack of modern equipment, cannot truly be called hospitals. They also cannot perform surgeries on those who are severely wounded.
Emmanuel Brachet describes the Nawprdan hospital as follows: The hospital is a mud house, partially shaded by a walnut tree and surrounded by tobacco fields. Dr. Hassan himself told me that painting the Red Cross or Red Crescent symbol on the roof is dangerous, because it makes us a target for Baghdad's aircraft. At the Nawprdan hospital, behind the hospital, a space was designated to receive patients who had minor Illnesses and were receiving treatment there. Under a porch with a dirt roof, surrounded by a fine net, a special area was prepared for patients to wait. Patients stood in line to see the doctor. Women with their weak, infant children were annoyed by the crowds and the chaos of the adults. Some of them were sitting on the ground, their bodies covered from head to toe in a large black shawl, but their faces were visible.
Sources:- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish National Liberation Movement.
- Emmanuel Brachet, In the Flames of the Kurdish Fire, Ali Salih Pirani, published by the Kurdistan Democratic Party Encyclopedia Board-2025.
- Ismet Cheriff Vanly, The Kurdish Students Society in Europe, published by the Kurdistan Democratic Party Encyclopedia Board-2025.





