Health Sector in Syria in 2023

The efforts of the health sector in Syria this year focused on raising awareness of the importance and necessity of early detection of diseases, through launching specialized programs and campaigns,  rehabilitating and opening new departments in a number of hospitals and health centers, providing quality and advanced equipment, in addition to national vaccination and health awareness campaigns.

Centers, departments and divisions opened for the year 2023:

– Catheterization and Cardiac Surgery Department and CT Department at Al-Nabak Hospital in Damascus countryside.

– The Martyr Ali Haitham Salman Center for Child and Maternal Care in Qardaha and the Al-Haffa Health Clinic, which were put into service after completing the repair of the damage as a result of the earthquake.

– Rehabilitating and restoring most of the departments of the General Authority of Daraa National Hospital, and putting the health center in the town of Atman in the Daraa countryside into service after the completion of the rehabilitation work.

– The Artificial Kidney Department of the General Authority of Qamishli National Hospital was put into service.

– Opening 6 health facilities in Homs after their rehabilitation:

– The General Authority of Homs National Hospital.

– Specialized Center for Physical Therapy.

– Forensic Medicine Building.

-Several health centers in a number of villages.

– Putting three prefabricated health centers into service in Hama countryside.

– Opening two new clinics specializing in pediatric surgery and vascular surgery at Martyr Mazen Ibrahim Hospital in Tartous.

Opening 3 health facilities after their rehabilitation in Deir ez-Zor Governorate:

–  The School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Health Institute.

– Public health laboratory in the hospital complex in the General Authority of Al-Assad Hospital.

– Natural obstetrics house in Al-Rashidiyah neighborhood.

– New ambulances and medical equipment that were supplied to hospitals, and others were put back into service.

– Installing sterilization and medical waste destruction devices in some hospitals.

– Providing the General Authority of Qamishli National Hospital with special medical equipment for the artificial kidney department.

– Providing the health center in the town of Shin, Homs, with an advanced echo device.

The Ministry of Health’s external participations during the year 2023:

– The activities  of the 152nd session of the Executive Council of the World Health Organization.

– Meeting of the 95th regular session of the Council of Arab Health Ministers, held in Geneva.

-Participating in two emergency sessions of the Executive Council of the World Health Organization virtually via the Zoom application to discuss the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories in the face of Israeli attacks.

Regarding the response to the earthquake disaster:

– Forming ambulance teams to provide psychological and social support services to affected families in shelter centers.

– Sending two ambulances and a mobile clinic to the city of Lattakia from Daraa Governorate.

-Opening a Russian field hospital in the Qadi Askar neighborhood in Aleppo to provide medical services to those affected by the earthquake.

– Launching the “Safety of Your Heart” initiative with the aim of meeting the needs of people suffering from heart disease and who were affected by the earthquake in Lattakia.

– Launching the psychological counseling hotline service under the slogan “We are with you, from pain to hope.”

– Allocating more than 85 medical teams in shelter centers to provide health services.

– Launching an initiative to activate four health centers operating according to the evening shift system in Aleppo Governorate, with the aim of providing comprehensive coverage of primary health care around the clock.

– Launching an initiative targeting more than 53 villages and residential communities where there are no health centers in Sweida Governorate.

– Launching ” Your Doctor at Home” campaign to deliver medical and health services to those affected by the earthquake in Lattakia Governorate.

– Equipping 3 ambulances with special equipment and devices for cardiac care in Daraa Governorate.

In terms of providing medicines:

– Securing a shipment of quality medicines to treat cancer patients provided by the Indian government.

– In Al-Hasakah, 10 tons of specific medicines and medical supplies necessary for the work of hospitals and health centers were supplied.

– Tons of specific medicines for chronic diseases, such as diabetes,were provide to hospitals

With regard to early detection of diseases with the aim of intervening and providing the necessary treatment in a timely manner, the National Program for Early Detection and Intervention of Hearing Deficiency in Newborns was launched on August 12, under the patronage and presence of First Lady Asma al-Assad:

-The program targets more than 500,000 newborns annually in various governorates.

– Training health personnel on an electronic program attached to the National Program for Early Detection and Intervention of Hearing Loss in Newborns, related to recording the data of its beneficiaries and following up on their access to the various stages of test and treatment.

– Holding awareness workshops and seminars on the importance of conducting audio scanning tests and early detection.

The program is implemented by the Ministries of Health, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Defense, Interior, the Syrian Organization for Persons with Disabilities Aamal and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

Regarding awareness and vaccination, a number of campaigns were launched in several governorates in the field of different diseases including :

– Masles vaccination campaign in Al-Hasakah Governorate after several cases of the disease appeared in some areas.

– A national awareness campaign about breast cancer

– A health awareness campaign entitled “Less sugar, more health.”

– Launching the Damascus Dental Health Days and the Damascus Scientific Health Days 2023 conference.

A number of unique and successful  surgeries were carried out in several governorates especially during the earthquake last February.

Rawaa Ghanam