TwoWings provide some resources for Aladdin’s Magic Lamp program to support this Social Action. Dr. Eva-Maria Hobiger, manager of the program, was the winner of TwoWings 2002 Award as a result of her deep sense of social responsibility and her efforts for the betterment of the world.

Childhood Cancer Ward Ibn Ghazwan Hospital

"Aladdin’s Miracle Lamp" is a relief program dedicated to children with cancer in Basra in southern Iraq. This name is chosen by the Idea of expressing hope that the relief program will bring to the sick children and their parents. Something that comes from children’s world and the Orient. For many years these children have passed away silently, unspectacularly, and painfully. None of the children was able to survive, but up to 90% of children with leukemia can be cured in Central Europe. Leukemia and cancer cases have increased continuously in Basra. In 1990, 15 children were diagnosed with leukemia while this number rose to 192 children in 2002. The main problem was missing necessary facilities for treatment, such as equipment, medicines, and hygiene.

“Children in Basra are dying from an ordinary complication that I have been able to treat innumerable times in the course of my professional life. A routine situation in a Western European hospital,” said Dr. Eva-Maria Hobiger, a radiotherapy specialist, manager of the medical program, and the winner of the TwoWings Award in 2002.

The children’s cancer ward of the Ibn Ghazwan mother-child hospital in Basra was supported through the “Aladdin’s miracle lamp” program. The ward was expanded and the supply of medicines was ensured. As an initial result, the mortality rate of children suffering from leukemia was reduced from 100% to 40% within one year. Also, about 1500 children who were suffering from the tropical disease “Kala Azar” were cured in 2003.

Iraqi Children in Austria for Therapy

There was no possibility of therapy for some children in Iraq and they had to be brought to Austria. However, these children and their parents had no passport and also there was no authority to issue one as a result of war. Together, solutions were found that finally made it possible for the people concerned to leave the country.

Education improvement for Iraqi Doctors

By two-to-three-month education in Austrian hospitals, Iraqi medical specialists were making up for their lack of knowledge, which had arisen due to the isolation from medical progress due to sanctions.

The “Aladdin’s Miracle Lamp” program provided lots of medical supplies and various minor appliances to continue their support and also, the laboratories and the hospital itself were renovated to better save the lives of many children.