As Syrian Civil War Wages On, Direct Relief Aids Refugees in Country and Beyond

Tents, provided by Barebones, are being used as portable medical clinics in Aleppo, Syria. Many hospitals and health clinics have been destroyed, and Direct Relief sent tents, medicines and medical supplies in August 2017 to several organizations supporting Syrian refugees and people who have been displaced from their homes within Syria.(Photo courtesy of the Independent Doctors Association)

By Lara Cooper

April 5, 2017

As new headlines surface about enduring turmoil and devastation in Syria, Direct Relief remains committed to supporting healthcare workers on the frontline of this crisis.

Direct Relief is working with Syrian Relief and Development, a group of doctors and nurses that have been working in Western Aleppo and Idlib Province. Idlib was the site of a devastating gas attack in April, and the appalling incident attests to the horrors of war and offers a grisly reminder to the world of the unceasing humanitarian crisis in Syria.

Direct Relief has provided Syrian Relief and Development with field medic packs, which contain an assortment of portable medicines.

The Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan is home to thousands of Syrians who have fled the civil war in their homeland. Direct Relief is working to reach these people in Syria and Jordan, as well as Turkey and Lebanon.

Many local hospitals and clinics have been bombed and destroyed, forcing doctors and nurses to treat patients wherever they can. Emergency medical tents have also been sent by Direct Relief, and the tents allow a temporary space for triage care to take place.

Nearly 5 million people have fled Syria since the beginning of the country’s civil war nearly six years ago, a conflict the United Nations has called the largest humanitarian crisis of our time. Another 9 million are internally displaced, meaning they’ve remained in the country but have had to flee their homes.

Within Syria, healthcare access is nearly impossible for people who have been displaced from their homes.

Direct Relief has worked to secure a large donation of critical antibiotics that will help fortify healthcare operations in the country. Other essential items, like emergency health kits, have also been sent. The kits meet the global standard for emergency response and can treat up to 1,000 patients for 30 days. A partnership was forged between United Muslim Relief and Syria Relief and Development to distribute critical medicines and supplies in the country.

Many Syrians have fled to neighboring countries. Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan alone now host 4.7 million refugees, and the health needs of people in these countries are numerous. Below are some small snapshots of what Direct Relief has done in these countries to help.

Turkey is home to almost 3 million registered Syrian refugees. Direct Relief has been working with a public and private partnership between private humanitarian aid organization, ANSAGIAD, and AFAD, a Turkish authority. These public/private partnerships are critical to effectively delivering aid where it’s needed most, to Syrians living in formalized camps as well as millions of refugees living in urban areas near the Turkey/Syria border.

ANSAGIAD aids 17 hospitals serving approximately 1 million people, and Direct Relief has sent two large donations of medicine to ANSAGIAD valued at nearly $3 million. A third shipment is currently in process.

A Direct Relief emergency health kit has also been sent to the Syrian American Medical Society in Turkey, for their work with internally displaced people inside Syria.

Lebanon is hosting an estimated 1 million Syrian refugees, over 90 percent of which live outside of formal camps. That means that these refugees are more likely to seek care in community clinics and hospitals, placing a strain on that country’s healthcare safety net facilities.

Basic health services, like dental care, are also often lacking for refugee communities, and Direct Relief has committed $50,000 to humanitarian group ANERA Lebanon for a dental program in northern Lebanon focused on Syrian refugee children. Days for Girls feminine hygiene kits were also donated for refugee women in Lebanon.

A Syrian man and his son visit a free clinic in Jordan in 2016 that was set up in partnership with the Vaseline Healing Project and the Jordan Health Aid Society.

Jordan hosts 655,000 Syrian refugees, with roughly 80 percent living outside formal camps. Non-communicable diseases, like diabetes and heart disease, remain leading causes of death for refugees. To deal with this, Direct Relief gave $300,000 to the Royal Health Awareness Society for their Healthy Community Clinics program, which focuses on treating non-communicable diseases.

Tobacco use is also common among refugees, and smoking cessation gum was donated to the Royal Health Awareness Society. Other key items to manage chronic conditions, like insulin, needles and syringes have arrived in Amman and are being distributed to charitable healthcare providers by the Jordan Ministry of Health. Key donations have also been made to the Jordan Health Aid Society as well as the Directorate Royal Medical Services.

Efforts to assist to Syrians in need will continue into 2017, and Direct Relief remains committed to the health of those within that country’s borders and beyond.