To mark the occasion, we want to celebrate the staff at the heart of one of our most important projects - the mobile health clinic.

A decade of conflict in Syria has created a displacement crisis of unparalleled proportions, with around 6.5 million people displaced within the country’s borders and 5.6 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.

Many of these people are residing in remote camps without access to adequate healthcare facilities. Given the critical health situation in the country, access to treatment is immensely important. 12 million people currently require health assistance, and 70 percent of all sub-districts have severe health needs.

At Syria Relief, we aim to ensure that all people, regardless of location, have access to the appropriate medical treatment. The staff that run our mobile clinics travel to the hardest to reach areas of the country delivering life-saving care to families. In a brutal conflict, this is an incredibly difficult thing to do. All of those involved demonstrate monumental courage and bravery in the pursuit of a better life for all, and for that, deserve huge recognition.

Healthcare in Syria

Syria’s healthcare system is in a state of crisis. Years of violence have taken a disastrous toll on infrastructure, with 46 percent of all hospitals and healthcare centres classed as either non-functional or partially functional. In addition, conflict and displacement have led to a loss of medical equipment, which has reduced the ability of health facilities to operate.

In many instances, healthcare staff have been the focal point of conflict. 67 percent of health workers said that bombardments specifically targeted their facilities, while 86 percent of the public agreed that medical staff risked their lives on a daily basis. These figures are a testament to the resilience of those that continue to provide treatment in the face of danger. Significant numbers of healthcare professionals have left Syria over the past decade, and were it not for those that remained, the situation would be simply unthinkable.

While the damage to infrastructure has caused a health crisis on a national level, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees face a unique set of challenges. From the threat of communicable diseases to the practical difficulties involved with accessing healthcare, displaced people are often forced to go without treatment purely due to the circumstances they are in. This cannot continue.

The Mobile Health Clinic

Through our mobile health clinic, we provide life-saving treatment to those who would otherwise suffer unaided. Specifically designed to reach remote displacement camps that are cut off from hospitals and other medical facilities, the clinic offers a comprehensive range of services and caters to people of all ages. 

Children receive check-ups from our doctors and expecting mothers receive scans and medication from our midwives completely free of charge. Further to this, clinic staff run awareness sessions about nutrition, psychosocial support and COVID-19.

But the clinic is far more than those that provide medical care. It is the drivers, support staff, the programmes assistants, and all who make its existence possible. Their work is just as important in providing aid to the vulnerable.