Dr. Zainab Al Saadi

Dr. Zainab Al Saadi is a consultant pediatrician at Al Wasiti Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, a major public teaching hospital that serves a large pediatric population across central Iraq. With 16 years of pediatric practice in a resource-limited and often challenging environment, Dr. Al Saadi has developed broad clinical expertise in the conditions that most affect Iraqi children: infectious diseases, malnutrition, anemia, and the sequelae of delayed preventive care.

Her pediatric infectious disease work is extensive, managing bacterial meningitis, severe pneumonia requiring hospitalization, enteric fever, acute gastroenteritis with dehydration, and skin and soft tissue infections. She is experienced with conditions that are relatively rare in high-income settings but remain prevalent in Iraq, including brucellosis in children, visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), and complications of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases in incompletely immunized children.

Dr. Al Saadi's commitment to child malnutrition reflects the reality that significant malnutrition remains a challenge among vulnerable communities in Iraq, compounded by internal displacement and economic hardship. She works with nutritionists and community health workers to assess, classify, and manage acute and chronic malnutrition using WHO protocols.

She is an active teacher at the University of Baghdad College of Medicine and trains pediatric residents at Al Wasiti Teaching Hospital. Her dedication to children's health in a complex environment has earned her respect within the Iraqi pediatric community.

Dr. Al Saadi obtained her MBChB from Mustansiriyah University College of Medicine in Baghdad and completed Pediatrics residency at Al Wasiti Teaching Hospital. She holds the Diploma in Child Health (DCH) and earned the MRCPCH (Member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health) following examination in the UK — a rigorous international assessment that is highly regarded within the Iraqi paediatric community. She completed additional training in pediatric nutrition and malnutrition management through WHO and UNICEF-supported programs in Iraq. She is registered with the Iraqi Board for Medical Specializations in Pediatrics. Her MRCPCH, obtained through the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, demonstrates clinical excellence recognised by British and international paediatric standards.

Dr. Al Saadi's general pediatrics expertise covers infants, children, and adolescents across the spectrum of acute and chronic illness. She manages severe bacterial infections including meningitis, sepsis, and pneumonia with appropriate antibiotic selection and supportive care in the inpatient pediatric ward. She assesses and manages acute and chronic malnutrition using MUAC measurement, weight-for-height z-scores, and therapeutic feeding protocols. She performs lumbar puncture for CSF examination, intravenous cannulation, and nasogastric tube insertion. She provides comprehensive vaccination counselling and catch-up vaccination scheduling for incompletely immunized children. She manages neonatal jaundice, neonatal sepsis, and common paediatric surgical presentations. She coordinates follow-up for children with chronic conditions including thalassaemia, sickle cell disease, and congenital heart disease requiring monitoring within Al Wasiti's multidisciplinary team.

Dr. Al Saadi has published in the Iraqi Journal of Medical Sciences and the Iraqi Pediatric Journal on malnutrition prevalence in displaced children, pediatric infectious disease patterns, and vaccination coverage in Baghdad. She participates in the Iraqi Pediatric Society's working groups on nutrition and infectious disease. She collaborates with WHO Iraq country office on child health program evaluation and contributes to national child health data collection.

Al Wasiti Teaching Hospital primarily serves the Iraqi domestic population, including internally displaced families from conflict-affected provinces who have relocated to Baghdad. Dr. Al Saadi consults in Arabic and is conversational in English. She offers video consultations for Iraqi families living abroad — in Jordan, Germany, Sweden, the UAE, and Australia — who seek paediatric advice in Arabic for their children, and for parents requiring second opinions on diagnosis or management. She is experienced providing guidance to families of children with complex nutritional needs and children with thalassaemia who may have difficulty maintaining regular haematology follow-up in Iraq's under-resourced healthcare system.

Dr. Al Saadi has been recognized by the Iraqi Pediatric Society for her work on child malnutrition in Baghdad's displaced population and has received commendations from Al Wasiti Teaching Hospital for teaching excellence in paediatric medicine. She participates in UNICEF and WHO child health programs in Iraq and has received acknowledgment from international health organizations for her contributions to paediatric care during difficult post-conflict circumstances. She received the Iraqi Pediatric Society Award for Clinical Service in 2022 for her sustained commitment to paediatric care at Al Wasiti Teaching Hospital through successive crises.