Health sector in 2022…. Expansion of hospitals and health centers and several national vaccination and awareness-raising campaigns
In 2022, the health sector expanded to include the opening of hospitals, health centers and new departments, as well as the development of the infrastructure of hospitals and health centers in all governorates, providing them with medical devices and working to secure medicines, not to mention carrying out many national vaccination and health awareness campaigns.
Hospitals, health centers, departments and divisions opened in 2022:
-Hospitals:
-The opening of Duma Emergency Hospital in Damascus countryside after it was rehabilitated.
-Opening of the 90-bed Harasta Hospital in Damascus countryside.
-Three field hospitals opened in Damascus countryside, Aleppo, and Homs with a total of 358 beds; 135 in Damascus countryside, 120 in Aleppo and 100 in Homs.
-Opening of the cardiac catheterization department of the General Authority of Al-Basil Hospital for Heart Diseases and Surgery in Damascus.
-Expansion of the dialysis department in the General Authority of Qalamoun Hospitals “Al-Nabik Hospital to become a 19-bed capacity.
-Aleppo Ophthalmic Hospital’s retinal surgery department was put to work after a 10-year hiatus caused by terrorism.
-Rehabilitation and expansion of the emergency section at Salmiya National Hospital.
-Opening of the Division of Surgery and Plastic Clinic in the Hospital of Dermatology and Venereology Diseases.
-Opening of a series of development projects in Al-Mowasat Hospital at a cost of approximately SYP2 billion.
-Launching of the new solar energy project at Al Assad University Hospital.
-Health centers:
-Opening of the Physical Medicine Center in Hama governorate.
-Rehabilitation of 6 centers during 2022. Work continues in 18 health centers in various governorates.
-Opening of a health clinic in the town of Alaqin in the northern countryside of Daraa.
-Expansion of audiology clinics to 27 centers.
-Installing a solar energy system for 39 health centers.
-Providing funding for the rehabilitation of 12 health centers by the Al-Ghafi Organization and 28 health centers by the COVAX facility.
-The equipping of 8 border medical posts and receiving 8 ambulances for them, where the two “Jdaidet Yabous and Al-Jawsiya”,” border posts have been completed.
-The opening of the Salahuddin Health Center in Aleppo after it was reconstructed with a new vision.
Ambulances and New medical devices provided to hospitals:
-The ambulance system was provided with 18 ambulances.
-A magnetic resonance device was put into service at Martyr Zeid Al-Shariti Hospital in As-Suwayda.
-The CT device was put into service at Al Qutaifa National Hospital in rural Damascus more than a year after it stopped.
-Putting the kidney stone fragmentation device into service at the National Hospital in Hasaka after conducting the necessary maintenance.
-4respirators provided by Pope Francis “The Vatican Pope” were distributed, as two artificial respirators for the General Authority of the Al-Basil Hospital for Cardiology and Surgery in Damascus, and two devices for the Al-Basil Center for Cardiology and Surgery in Aleppo.
-7 Oxygen plants were put into service in Al-Drekish Hospital, Al-Qadmous Hospital, and General Authority of Damascus Hospital – General Authority of Al-Basil Hospital in Tartous, Aleppo Children’s Hospital General Authority, Al-Zabadani Hospital, Zahi Azraq Hospital, Aleppo.
-Maintenance of 3 oxygen generating stations in the General Authority of Red Crescent Hospital, Al-Basil Hospital in Karm Al-Lawz, Ibn Al-Nafis Medical Complex.
-Providing hospitals and health centers in various governorates with 16 echocardiogram devices, 9 anesthesia devices, one arc ray device, 5 CR devices, 4 DR devices, 11 hemodialysis devices, 16 automatic respirators, 28 ordinary respirators, and 45 portable respirators.
-Providing 1600 oxygen cylinders.
-Providing Damascus Hospital with 4 babies’ incubators, surgical medical supplies and ambulatory equipment provided by Russia.
-The “3D Cardiac Catheterization” and “Multi-slice CT” devices were put into service at the General Authority of the Martyr Basil Al-Assad Hospital for Heart Diseases and Surgery in Damascus.
Awareness and vaccination campaigns implemented in 2022
-The “Don’t make it too sweet” campaign, which included holding community events and educational lectures, distributing leaflets on the harm of white sugar to public health, and the need for a healthy lifestyle to prevent diseases.
-4 Intensive national coronavirus vaccination campaigns, with more than 7 million vaccine doses secured.
-The cholera campaign, which was launched at the beginning of December, is in the process of securing 2 million vaccine doses through vaccine campaigns in rural Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and Hasaka.
-A national campaign against polio in March with a 84.4% coverage rate.
-The campaign to promote routine vaccination and follow-up of dropouts in June, with 45.55 children vaccinated.
-A national campaign against polio in October, with 79.8% coverage, while 91.8% in accessible places.
-A national campaign against measles in October reached a coverage rate of 76%, while the achievement rate in accessible places was 87%.
-The campaign to promote routine vaccination and follow-up of dropouts in November, with 61,648 vaccinated children.
-The 2022-2023 school vaccine campaign is under way.
-The National Awareness Campaign for the Early Detection of Breast Cancer in the governorates in October. Its services in all governorates amounted to 417,121 clinical breast screening, 13,925 mammograms, and 5,374 eco-ultrasound.
With regard to the provision of medicines, the Ministry has promoted local industry by:
-Licensing of 717 pharmaceutical products.
-Launching 571 new products.
-Licensing for 5 laboratories
-Adding 10 new production lines.
-Providing 284 drug varieties.
-Providing 146 imported drug items.
The most important achievements of health cadres in 2022:
Health cadres have achieved great medical successes, some of which are:
-For the first time, laparoscopic surgery for bleeding fibrous angioma was conducted in adolescents at the General Authority of Damascus Hospital.
-The Abu Zer Al Ghafari Center in Damascus receives ISO 2015-9001 certification related to the development of medical work .
-“Medicine” magazine published a case of success of the General Authority of Damascus Hospital in treating a 34-year-old man suffering from ulcerative colitis with Covid-19 pneumonia and SARS-Cov-2 with biological drugs.
-The British Journal of “Public Health and Environment” published a research article by a group of doctors in Damascus Hospital on self-treatment which means the patient’s diagnosis of his disease.
Amal Farhat