The recent arrival of COVID-19 in Syria will be catastrophic for a country already broken by almost a decade of conflict. 

After 9 years, the Syrian war has been named as the worst humanitarian crisis in a generation leaving nearly half a million Syrians dead and forcing more than half of the population from their homes. 

Thousands of Syrian families who have fled their homes and are now living in makeshift camps, in close proximity to many others, are extremely vulnerable to the current outbreak. Displaced and refugee families often have no sanitation or hygiene equipment. Many already have health conditions caused by their unsuitable shelter during winter or as a result of injuries sustained from airstrikes and conflict.

With half of the country’s hospitals either damaged or destroyed, Syria is not prepared for the arrival of COVID-19. Thousands of healthcare professionals have fled the country and more than 900 medical professionals have been killed. Hospitals and medics simply do not have the means to cope with the deadly virus. They urgently require PPE and basic medical equipment to even have a chance to combat the virus. 

The number of reported COVID-19 cases in Syria continues to climb each week however, it is believed that the actual number may be significantly higher as a result of poor reporting, the high number of internally displaced persons and the difficulties with tracking. 

Many people in Northern Syria are reliant on NGOs like Syria Relief for healthcare – even though we have had a number of our healthcare facilities damaged and destroyed by the violence. Despite the violence, last year alone, 177,664 people benefited from our 8 static health facilities and 6,771 people benefitted from our 4 mobile health facilities. We also managed to vaccinate 15,900 children and give 48,882 nutritional support.

We are on the ground delivering PPE, testing kits, medical care, hygiene kits and clean water to those affected and to those frontline care workers who are treating patients, but we need your help! We urgently need you to donate to help prevent and treat the devastating impact of COVID-19