October 10, 2018
Today Is World Mental Health Day
The Syrian civil war has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, displaced over 10 million people, and fueled the worst refugee crisis since World War II.
Syria has been consumed by civil war and conflict since 2011
Throughout the war, civilians and health facilities have been targeted indiscriminately by warring parties. Fundamental human rights are violated every day. Syrians continue to “disappear”and thousands are detained and tortured in Syrian jails such as Saydnaya. The conflict has become so complex that many watchdogs have ceased trying to accurately count the number of casualties.
Of the estimated 400,000 people killed in the war, 50,000 were children. The medical needs within Syria are vast, and more than 50% of Syrian medical experts have fled the country. Doctors of the World has been working in Syria since 2008, increasing our capacity in 2011 in response to the conflict.
400,000
People killed
10.8
Million displaced
700,000
Medical consultations provided
In 2017, we provided over 700,000 medical consultations to Syrians in need. As of 2018, we have directly and indirectly supported 22 health centers and mobile teams within Syria. Our teams are present in Idlib, Aleppo, Rural Damascus, Dara’a and Hasakeh actively providing primary healthcare and sexual and reproductive care to Syrians affected by conflict.
We also support post-surgery rehabilitation centers along the Syrian-Turkish border in Sarmada and Reyhanli – where we treat and monitor those injured in the fighting.
Today, our teams are responding to the immediate health needs of more than 500,000 Syrians affected by conflict.
Since the fall of Aleppo in December 2016, the international community has decided to ignore Syria. But the terror continues: the civilian population continues to suffer horrendous physical and psychological trauma.
Doctors of the World works to maintain the availability of drugs and medical equipment in Syrian conflict zones through supply lines supported by local partners and staff. Without these extremely risky but vital supply lines we would be unable to continue our work in Syria.
We have also created a number of award-winning campaigns to highlight the plight of Syrian refugees, including I’m Moving To Canada, Just Like Us, Get The Real Story and our billboard campaign, Out Of Sight Out Of Mind.
There are over 5 million Syrian refugees around the world
In addition to the estimated 6.5 million Syrians internally displaced by the war, 5 million have left the country as refugees. Many have fled into neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, but also to countries across Europe including Greece, Germany and France. Our work with Syrians continues along this migratory route, where we provide medical care for thousands of Syrian refugees across the Middle East and Europe.