Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Islamic Relief has been helping to increase access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) supplies and services through interventions that in 2020 included sanitation solutions, as well as sewage and waste management systems. We are also helping to improve the hygiene practices of vulnerable people in northern Syria.
A vital project has been to establish water-pumping networks powered by solar-energy, as well as sewage networks and garbage containers in the northern Aleppo region. Islamic Relief has provided additional support for people with disabilities, prioritising them for support and ensuring that they can access it. We also worked with local councils to build their capacity to manage their water systems and repair existing water sources. In addition we have maintained WASH facilities in 12 schools and shown local people how good hygiene practices can help keep disease at bay.
Altogether, our WASH interventions reached over 312,000 people.
Umm Maher’s temperature is checked during one of her frequent visits to the Islamic Relief medical centre in Ram Hamdan village. It is one of a range of preventative measures taken to our health centre protect patients and staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Doctors have faced everything in crisis-torn Syria but Covid-19 still fills us with fear”
There is now another frontline in Syria: the fight against coronavirus. Dr Ahmed Ghandour, a surgeon in Al-Rahma Hospital in Darkoush, Idlib, reflects on the latest danger facing already vulnerable people.
“If richer nations, with all their resources and capabilities, have been unable to control the Covid-19 pandemic, what hope is there for a country ravaged
by crisis, whose economy is in tatters and whose people are exhausted, physically and psychologically? We have faced barrel bombs, destruction and displacement. We have faced everything and now face the new danger of Covid-19. The disease strikes fear in me and every other doctor.
“We know that we may put our families in danger, but when I go home, how can I tell my son, ‘Stay away from
me, because I may be infected with coronavirus?’ [At the hospital] we follow strict hygiene and sanitation methods but the hospital cannot afford personal protective items (PPE). Organisations such as Islamic Relief have provided us with masks and gloves in addition to sterilisers, soap and other basic items. This has had a major impact in limiting the spread of the virus among medical staff.
“However, the challenge of protecting patients and their families remains. People struggle to feed their families – how can they afford PPE? Most people here live in camps and face a terrible dilemma. Should they try to quarantine in the small tent they share with their family, or in the houses that are home to multiple families, or should they go out and to try to earn a living to provide for their family, putting themselves at greater risk in the process?
“We face shortages of everything. People cannot buy fairly basic medicine, such as something to reduce a fever, and we have difficulty securing the right medicines for patients. We urgently need more intensive care beds and we desperately need ventilators and oxygen.
“Each life lost is another tragedy. As the crisis drags on, Syrians face even greater danger with this disease.”
“I thank everyone who have stood by the side of the Syrian people, especially Islamic Relief, who have provided intensive care devices and helped to reduce the cost of treatment for many patients. They have also provided kidney dialysis devices and helped to establish a centre to treat those affected by Covid-19. But it is more than just the vital equipment and free medicines. We feel that they feel our pain and stand with us through these darkest of times.”
