Healthcare provision in Syria is being significantly hampered by 13 years of civil war and sanctions that have devastated the economy, with just 57 per cent of hospitals in the country currently fully functional, with blood treatment machines missing parts, buildings leaking water, hard-to-come by anaesthesia, single-use equipment used more than once, soap and water used for sterilisation… the situation appears to be reaching crisis point.
In May this year, a United Nations assessment of the emergency found that alongside partial hospital closures, just 37 per cent of primary healthcare centres in Syria are fully functional, Context reports.
Furthermore, between 50 per cent and 70 per cent of health workers in the country left during the war, with Christina Bethke - acting representative for Syria for the World Health Organisation - telling the news source: “Syria’s public health sector remains at a critical juncture.”
She went on to say: “Syria’s poorest communities have been hardest hit. Negative coping mechanisms may result when families face catastrophic health expenditures and have to choose between life-saving healthcare and other necessities like food, water and education.”
It’s always distressing to hear about situations such as this and the Abronn Medical team always strives to make a difference wherever it can, which is why it’s donated medical equipment to Damascus Hospital to help them deliver vital healthcare where it’s needed the most.
Included in the donated items are gurneys and manual hospital beds, hopefully going some way towards helping the more than 15 million Syrians in need of primary and secondary health assistance.
If you’d like to find out more about our charity work or the medical equipment we provide, get in touch with the Abronn Medical team today.