Sir Harry Sinderson Pasha and Iraq’s first medical school

Abstract

During the early twentieth century, the medical status of Mesopotamia, later Iraq, was very bad due to the lack of sanitation and recurrent epidemics and it was rife with endemic diseases including bilharziasis, tuberculosis and malaria. Medical care was poor, with few hospitals and doctors. The condition improved slowly with the return of a few Iraqi doctors who trained outside Iraq, in Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, and with the arrival of British Medical personnel, during and after the First World War, principally Sir Harry Sinderson who was one of the most influential figures in recent Iraqi medical and political history. He had the distinctive role of being one of the founders and the Dean of the first Iraqi medical college. During his service until his retirement in 1946 he achieved, with tireless effort, exceptionally high standards and brought fame and prestige to the new medical college in record time. He attained his goal of training at least 500 local doctors.