The Syria Trust for Development’s Health Initiative

 

 

 

The Syria Trust for Development has launched a health initiative in Damascus governmental shelters in which Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), medical ones and volunteers from local community are playing a key role.

This initiative is just an example of the humanitarian aid being offered by the Trust in one field to alleviate the impact of the crisis  caused by foreign-backed terrorists and al-Qaeda-affiliated .  

The Trust’s South Region’s press official, Miss. Areej Bawadekji, told Syria times reporter, Basma Qaddourthat  “The initiative was a must whereas the displaced families temporary residing in Damascus shelters need health care.”

She clarified that a study’s report regarding the displaced people’s general health status in Damascus shelters showed a complete lack of health awareness and increase of diseases caused by not looking after personal cleanliness and food safety.

 

Beneficiary number

The report revealed that mange, head lice-infested, women’s inflammations, and under nutrition are the main cases that require urgent treatment.

So, the health initiative team organized sessions to raise displaced people’s awareness of these cases and offered free medical services to them.

“Successfully, all cases were treated in the 16 shelters supervised by the Trust within few months,” said Miss. Bawadekji, noting that 2300 people benefited from the initiative in October.

This success comes within the initiative’s goals that seek to limit the spread of communicable diseases and to provide the displaced people with all available medical services.

Active network

She asserted that a better health status for these families is the target of this initiative that would form a well-trained health network within shelters consisting of displaced people and volunteers.

“The long-term goal is to form network that would empower society to be active during crises and disasters,” added Miss. Bawadekji.

A few Volunteers

Such a hard work requires serious cooperation with local community represented by volunteers as to facilitate communication between displaced people and partners.

The Syria Times reporter sat down with three volunteers working in this initiative to speak more about it. 

Mr.Moayad Hejazi, the Initiative’s Supervisor, said: “In cooperation with the UNICEF, we have kicked off the initiative on September 9, 2012, with only two volunteers, where about 45 children in “Somaya alMakhzomeyeh” school were examined and provided with right vitamins. But now 32 volunteers are joining the work on the ground.”

Actually, this number isn’t sufficient to appoint a health official in each shelter as only five volunteers have experience in medicine , said the volunteer, Mr.Othman al-Horani (University student at the Faculty of Medicine).

He was informed about the initiative through his friends and he joined the Trust’ voluntary team five months ago.

First-aid training

Mr. al-Horani pointed out  that there is  a plan to train a number of displaced people interested in first aid by the end of this month.

The training course will be held in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) in “Massar Center” in Damascus, said Communication Official, Mr.Bashar Majdalawi.

After receiving the first-aid certificate, the trainees are to be active in shelters and society as well, according to the Trust’s plan.

A lack of medicine

Everything seems to be ok except the problem of ensuring medicines to the displaced people.

The main sources of medicine are International Medical Corps (IMC), the (SARC), and charity.

“In partnership with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the IMC is operating mobile medical units (MMUs) in Damascus to provide health services to the displaced people affected by the ongoing crisis,” said Mr. al-Horani.

He stressed that a good quantity of available medicines, received as charity from pharmacies, is useless as they are for special diseases.

The initiative team is contacting with pharmacies to replace the medicines with common ones for cold, diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, and fever which are necessary in shelters.

In addition, the team is designing a health card to be adopted by the SARC for providing the displaced people with the required medicine according to agreed measures.

No statistics

Regarding the required quantity of medicine, Mr.Majdalawi clarified that it’s difficult to prepare a statistic about kind and number of diseases in shelters as some of displaced people returned their home and others rented houses.

Governmental shelters across Syria are temporary hosting thousands of displaced families who fled their homes in volatile areas owing to current crisis.

The Trust

The Syria Trust for Development is a non-governmental, non-profit organization established in 2001 to empower individuals and communities in Syria to fulfill their role in building their society and shaping their future.

Basma Qaddour