Syrian Healthcare System at Risk as Foreign Aid Dwindles Post-War
TL/DR –
The fall of Syria’s dictatorship ended a long and bloody civil conflict, but it left the country’s healthcare network in ruins. As nongovernmental organizations struggle to fill the gap, the U.S. has frozen all foreign aid programs, which have been crucial for the healthcare sector, especially in northern Syria, where millions of displaced people have settled. The reduction in aid is leading to a rise in peril for Syrians, with severe acute malnutrition cases growing and many healthcare facilities closing or at risk of closure due to funding cuts.
Syria’s Health Crisis Deepens as Foreign Aid Declines
With the downfall of Syria’s dictatorship ending a prolonged and violent conflict, millions of Syrians were left without respite in a war-ravaged nation. The country’s health care system lay in ruins. Nonprofit organizations have partly filled the health services gap, largely through European and U.S. funding. However, that crucial support is now waning.
As Syria’s top donor, the U.S. has provided over $18 billion in aid during the country’s 14-year war. However, the U.S. has now frozen all foreign aid programs, following the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The reduction in U.S. aid, combined with diminishing contributions from European governments, is proving disastrous for Syria’s health care, particularly in the north. An influx of millions displaced by the conflict has put increased pressure on health centers in the region, managed by French nongovernmental organization, Mehad.
As funding decreases, the risk to Syrian civilians is escalating. In the past three months, workers at Mehad reported 20 cases of severe acute malnutrition in the Azaz area, north of Aleppo. The organization ran out of nutritional baby food as Save the Children announced a 40% reduction of its nutrition programs in Syria due to funding cuts.
Impact of Funding Cuts on Health Facilities
Save the Children highlighted that over 416,000 children in Syria are now at high risk of severe malnutrition due to the abrupt halt in foreign aid. Several of Mehad’s health and nutrition programs in northern Syria have been forced to close or are scheduled for closure.
Health workers across northwest Syria warned in May that nearly 172 health facilities are at risk of closure due to sudden funding cuts, potentially leaving 4.24 million people without access to trauma care, maternal and child health, and chronic disease treatment.
As facilities are being forced to close, the remaining ones are witnessing an influx of patients. The Al Kesra hospital reported a 10% increase in its caseload over the past five months. But the hospital was forced to close a wing that provided services to malnourished babies in April due to a loss of USAID funding.
Implications for Syrian Civilians
Syrians with kidney ailments also face growing risk. Dialysis centers operated by Mehad are now the only functioning centers in northeast Syria. In the past five months, the Abu Hamam Hospital had to turn away some patients requiring dialysis, as some of their machines started to break down.
The loss of health centers could force patients to seek alternative options, often at a distance they cannot afford to travel, or rely on private clinics, which are prohibitively expensive. With worsening aid cuts, many patients’ lives are at risk.
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