After six years of crisis healthcare provision in Syria continues to worsen due to the lack of organised support, the absence of supervising authorities, a shortage of medical professionals and badly damaged health facilities.

Reports state that the average number of injuries and trauma cases exceeds 25,000 each month, in addition to the country’s other non-trauma health needs. Neglected services include maternal, paediatric, and specialist support for patients with chronic conditions.

One of our most prominent current health projects is being supported by an in-kind donation from Globus Relief who provided three shipments of disposable medical items and supporting kit. The first container was received in 2014, supplying five hospitals in Aleppo city with urgently needed items and benefitting around 10,000 patients. Later, 19 containers were distributed among 51 different health facilities benefitting more than 221,000 patients in the four regions of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Latakia.

In early 2017 three more containers were received in Syria and the contents have been distributed among nine hospitals in Jis al-Shuhur, Idlib region and around Idlib city. One container supplied four hospitals in Al Sahil, Latakia and the whole shipment benefitted around 37,300 Syrians in severe need of medical assistance.

The project also reached out to people with disabilities and outpatients by supporting post hospital recovery services.

Mohammed Ayman, who coordinates Islamic Relief’s health programmes, said: “After years of crisis and the destruction of medical infrastructure in addition to the huge numbers of injuries and untreated cases, our programme supports the recovery of the health system in Syria to become stable and able to cope with people’s basic medical needs.”

“I took my kids to agricultural land where I could guarantee safety. As soon as we sat down an aircraft bombed the place’’, said Um Osama, from Hama.

“I took my kids to agricultural land where I could guarantee safety. As soon as we sat down an aircraft bombed the place’’, said Um Osama, from Hama.

We met Um Osama in one of the supported hospitals by Globus Relief. She told us her story. “It was a horrible night. The military aircraft was above us, we heard voices of explosive barrels and rockets that were falling everywhere around us, I did not know where to go.”

She took her children that night and went to an agricultural land on the outskirts of the village to search for a place where she could find safety for her family. She said: “As soon as we sat under one of the olive trees, an aircraft bombed the place with cluster bombs. My little daughter died and my children and I were injured.”

Um Osama as well as many other Syrians receive medical treatment in hospitals supported by Islamic Relief. Donations help us save lives.

Islamic Relief will continue supporting health service providers to improve the Syria’s health sector, to alleviate the suffering of Syrian people, and to support access to free, standardised quality health services.