transition from an emergency to development phase. Since 1997, Merlin has been working with the Ministry of Health to renovate health facilities, supply medicines and equipment, and train and supervise health workers. Sudan: In 2004, when Merlin's teams began setting up health services, most people made homeless by militia attacks had no opportunity to get medical care. Merlin now operates a network of clinics serving eight settlements which have been inundated by people fleeing the conflict. On average 134,000 are treated every six months. Middle East Merlin began working in Afghanistan in 1994, providing essential health services for vulnerable people in some of the most remote and hard to reach areas of the country. Reproductive health care in Afghanistan is particularly inadequate, resulting in some of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world. For a time only 14% of deliveries were attended by a trained midwife, and in isolated rural areas, women faced a one in three lifetime risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth. Merlin opened a midwife training centre in Taloqan in the north-eastern province of Takhar in April 2006. Since then many students have graduated and are now providing essential maternal health care for more than 84,000 women. The 2003 Bam earthquake: On 26 December 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the moment magnitude scale struck the ancient city of Bam in Iran, killing more than 26,000 people and leaving 75,000 homeless. Merlin responded within 72 hours of the disaster, sending in a team to carry out health assessments and to distribute emergency medical supplies, hygiene packs, and essential water and sanitation items. Merlin stayed in Bam for more than a year following the disaster, and helped build or refurbish 32 medical houses and 11 health centres. Merlin was one of the first international humanitarian organisations to enter Baghdad just days after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003. Teams delivered emergency health kits and medical supplies to paediatric hospitals and health clinics throughout Baghdad, focusing on the most vulnerable groups such as women and children. Merlin also helped train and equip local health authorities to restart their activities and rehabilitate their war-ravaged infrastructure. In many areas of Baghdad, water and sanitation systems had become very poorly maintained, with some areas regularly flooded by sewage. In response, Merlin implemented water and sanitation projects, that helped approximately 35,000 people in the Greater Baghdad