August 18, 2017
World Humanitarian Day: August 19th
The Syrian civil war has claimed over 400,000 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, with civilians and health facilities targeted indiscriminately by warring parties. Fundamental human rights are violated every day in Syria – with tens of thousands of people continuing to “disappear”and thousands detained and tortured in Syrian jails such as Saydnaya. Of the 450,000 people killed in the war, it’s estimated that 50,000 were children. The medical needs within Syria are vast, and more than 50% of Syrian medical experts have fled the country.
More than half of the health centers and hospitals that existed before the war are no longer operational. Health facilities are also deliberately targeted by the Syrian regime – in 2016 alone they were targeted 388 times. Doctors of the World has been working in Syria since 2012, supporting 21 health centers in Idlib, Aleppo and Dera’a. Our teams provide primary healthcare and sexual and reproductive care to Syrians affected by conflict.
450,000
People killed
10.8
Million displaced
50%+
Medical facilities destroyed
Doctors of the World has been working in Syria since 2012, supporting 21 health centers in Idlib, Aleppo and Dera’a. Our teams provide primary healthcare and sexual and reproductive care to Syrians affected by the conflict. In 2016 we were able to provide 760,400 consultations. We also support post-surgical centers along the Syrian-Turkish border in Sarmada and Reyhanli – where we monitor and rehabilitate those injured in the fighting.
In addition to providing healthcare, we also work to maintain the availability of drugs and medical equipment through supply lines supported by local partners and staff. Without these dangerous but vital supply lines we would be unable to continue our work in Syria.
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.
In addition to the roughly 6 million Syrians internally displaced by the war, 4.8 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 migrants across the Middle East and Europe every day.
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.