| 18 Octobre 2017
17 October, 2017, Damascus, Syria – A WHO shipment of health supplies delivered through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to besieged Deir-Ez-Zor governorate in Syria has helped struggling health facilities deliver life-saving health services to thousands of people.
The 14–ton shipment includes medicines for trauma care and the treatment of burns; antibiotics; anti-allergens; cardiovascular medicines; and oral rehydration salts. In total, the supplies are sufficient for almost 1800 trauma cases and 260,000 medical treatments for more than three months.
“This shipment from WHO will help to revive weakened health facilities that have been unable to effectively deliver care due to the shortages of medicines and medical equipment,” said Elizabeth Hoff, WHO Representative in Syria.
Health facilities receiving the supplies include Al-Assad hospital on the outskirts of Deir Ez Zor, a 320 -bed facility that recently became accessible after two years.
More than 93,500 people in Deir -Ez-Zor city have been besieged for almost three years. Recent assessment reports indicate that almost 43% of all health facilities in Deir ez-Zor governorate have closed, resulting in limited access to trauma care services and other medical services.
This is the second shipment of WHO supplies delivered to Deir-ez-Zor. On 6 September 2017, WHO delivered a 4-ton medical shipment that included more than 56,000 medical treatments, medicines and supplies for 100 trauma cases, as well as lifesaving medicines for patients with chronic diseases. In August 2016, WHO air-dropped almost 85,000 treatments and trauma medicines to meet the urgent needs of besieged populations in the governorate.
In total since the beginning of 2017, WHO has provided medicines sufficient for more than 2,700.000 treatments as part of its response in north-east Syria to meet increasing health needs across the country.
WHO is grateful for the support received from the Government of Japan, Qatar Charity, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), and the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. A funding gap of US$ 10 million remains, impeding WHO’s ability to fully meet the immediate health needs of affected people in Ar-Raqqa, Deir-ez-Zor and Al-Hassakeh governorates.
