On 22 August 2007 CNN ran a horrifying story about five-year-old
Youssif who was caught by masked men, soaked with gasoline and set
on fire outside his home in central Baghdad in January 2007. "They
dumped gasoline, burned me, and ran," Youssif told CNN during the
interview. The story gripped the world's attention. IOM was
contacted by Operation Smile to reach the grief-stricken family to
see what could be done. Options were to try operating on the child
in Jordan and if that proved too difficult then further treatment
inside Iraq was the next option. Treatment in the United States at
the time still seemed like a far-fetched option.

Weeks after, an IOM Medical Officer in Baghdad met with the
family to deliver the good news. Thousands of CNN viewers wrote to
the channel to donate for Youssif's treatment. The Children's Burn
Foundation – a non-profit organization based in California
that provides support for burn victims – established a fund
where CNN viewers could donate and agreed to pay for the
transportation for Youssif and his family to come to the United
States.

The IOM Medical Officer did a check up on Youssif, prepared his
medical records needed for the process and facilitated meetings
between the CNN crew and Youssif and his parents, providing a safe
location due to the security situation in Baghdad.

By mid September Youssif and his family were flown to the US
where he is currently undergoing multiple surgeries and extensive
rehabilitation.

Youssif's progress can be viewed at "paragraph-link-no-underline" href="http://www.cnn.com/" target=
"_blank" title="">http://www.cnn.com/

IOM's Medical Programme matches Iraqi patients in need of urgent
medical attention with pro-bono medical assistance provided by
hospitals in the region and abroad and evacuates them for
treatment. The Medical Programme provides medical escorts and
health assessments for Iraqis returning to Iraq through the AVR
Programme. The Programme also assists in medical screening and
health assessments for immigration applicants.