The Emirates Red Crescent authority (ERC) has offered 7 tonnes of medicines and vaccines to the ministry of health of the Iraqi province of Kurdistan, as part of the efforts to improve health care services provided to Iraqi displaced people and Syrian refugees hosted by the province.

The items were handed to the ministry in presence of Iraqi Kurdistan’s health minister, the governor of Arbil and a number of Iraqi officials.

The minister said the current economic crisis, caused by the drop in oil prices, had forced the government to cut the ministry’s budget by 55 per cent and consequently affected the delivery of health care services in the province.

The governor of Arbil said the ERC efforts and initiatives extended beyond the refugee camps to the neighbouring areas of Arbil.