Dortmund, 29.04.2015

by Ammar Zakaria, MD

Agenda• Journey into Medical Relief• Crisis in Syria • Health Care System • Medical Care in Aleppo• Current Challenges• Risks• ACMC 2014 Achievement• How to help• Q/A

Crisis in numbers 12.2 Million Need of Humanitarian Aid4.8 million Inaccessible areas250,000+ Known death tolls3.8 Million Refugees (UNHCR)7.6 Million Internally Displaced5.5 Million Children Affected1.2 Million Homes destroyed217,700 Asylum applications to EU

(WHO) The overall health and humanitarian situation in Syria has severely deteriorated

(UNHCR) The Worst Humanitarian Disaster since the end of the Cold War (MSF) Syria is seen as the world’s most grave humanitarian disaster (WHO) Trauma and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) remained the major causes of morbidity and mortality in 2014, largely due to the declining numbers of health professionals and the dire state of many hospitals.

Syria At-A-Glance

Syria’s crumbling healthcare System

210,000+ Known death tolls1.5 Million Civilians seriously injured 60,000 Permanently disabled610+ Medical Workers killed239 Attacks on Medical facilities80% Hospitals damaged / closed23 Doctors still serving Aleppo

Hospitals

SOS Aleppo

Challenges 1● Air Bombardment:

○ Attacks on high density civilian areas and hospitals○ Medical workers are dealing with high volume of

casualties caused by increase in barrel bombs attacks

● Resources: ○ Shortage of qualified medical workers; (23 out of 2500

doctors remain serving Aleppo, the rest fled or killed)○ Daily shifts stretching to 13-18hrs / 7 days○ Secure safe housing for families of key Medical workers

Challenges 2● Financial

○ Lack of funding (unable to pay basic salaries)○ Lack of a power source – electricity or fuel ○ Shortage of vital medical supplies

● Civilians Casualties:○ Malnourishment due to lack of basic needs○ High vulnerability to outbreaks of infectious Disease

● Operation ○ Unable to process increasingly patients○ High volume of conflict surgery overshadow and

delays non-conflict ones

2014 ACMC Key Achievement

● 206,566 medical services provided by ACMC● 9,164 surgeries performed mostly Trauma, General,

Orthopedic, Vascular)

● Creation of nursing school in Aleppo, providing three

levels for 76 Students including 18 females

● 2081 Birth delivery, including 766 Cesarians

● 54,000+ outpatient clinical services

2014 Birth Labour 2081 Total birth at two ACMC Hospitals:

63% Natural Delivery 37% Cesarians

By Surgery Type

9,164 surgeries performed in ACMC hospitals

Risks● High turnover of medical workers due to:

○ Overwhelming pressures and very long working shifts○ Unpaid backlog wages (cash shortage to pay salaries) ○ Seeking safe haven for their families outside the city○ unable to obtain or renew passport / ID

● Increase of mortality rate due to inability to provide prompted life-saving treatment

● High vulnerability to outbreaks of infectious Disease

How to Help1. Enhance the response capacity for life-saving and

Trauma Surgeries by facilitating access to certain Syrian Expatriate surgeons willing to rotating volunteer in Syria

2. Partner to fund salaries of War-zone medical workers

3. Support life-saving medical programs in devastated areas

4. Promote Telemedicine to provide clinical health care and consultation to help eliminate distance barriers and improve access to medical services in remote areas

MDM39%

UOSSM30%

SAMS 11%

MSF6%

SEMA4%

Hammer forum3%

Syria Relief

Shafak SYRIA

Kheir Charity

Health Office

PAC

Young Muslim Org Kinder tranen

Human concern

Poland for syria

Syr-Der

donors particpation percentage approx. 2,505,311 USD in total

Give Syria Hope

Each donation of 13,79 USD may save the life of a person, heal a little sick

child , or relief the pain on an old man , it will actually help to

#SaveAleppo

Vielen Dank

Links & Source● Medial Report by physicians for humanrights.org:

http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/press/press-releases/doctors-in-the-crosshairs-four-years-of-attacks-on-health-care-in-syria.html

● Human Rights Watch: Feb 2015: http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/02/24/syria-new-spate-

barrel-bomb-attacks

● MSF Jan 2015 Report: http://www.msf.org/sites/msf.org/files/2015_crisisupdatesyria-jan-

en_final.pdf

● WHO 2015 Report: http://www.who.int/hac/crises/syr/sitreps/syria_2014_annual_report.pdf?ua=1

● Syria crisis - European Commission:http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/syria_en.pdf

● Doctors of Doctors of the Worlds, UK: http://newint.org/blog/2015/03/17/syria-healthcare

Barrel Bombs

Barrel Bombs

Aleppo Map