ITC–Ministry of Health Partnership Advances Tele-EMS for Baghdad

On October 9, 2025, the Executive Director of the Iraqi Telemedicine Center—ITC, Dr. Sarah A’amer, met at the Ministry of Health (MoH) Headquarters in Baghdad with leaders of the Directorate of Operations and Emergency Medical Services to advance a joint pilot that will equip EMS ambulances with secure, one-click telemedicine.

The meeting—facilitated by the Department of International Health and Dr. Maha, Office Manager to the Administrative Vice Minister Dr. Khamis Saad—brought together Dr. Fadhil Al Rubaie (General Director), Dr. Abdulnassir Kamil (Assistant General Director), and Dr. Zayd Abdulsattar (Director of the EMS Department).

ITC, a registered NGO with the Department of International Health, presented its model linking EMS operators and paramedics to an on-call emergency physician 24/7 via a locked-down tablet app. After the discussion, Dr. Zayd escorted Dr. Sarah to the MoH garage to inspect four ambulances used for special events; each carries a telemedicine tablet supplied by AMS, though these units are not yet activated.

Across Baghdad, there are 81 MoH-run EMS centers, each with one ambulance staffed by one driver and one medic, and none are presently telemedicine-enabled.

The partnership aims to activate and standardize Tele-EMS and prioritize underserved peripheries.