Syria’s future under threat from acute funding shortages

The development comes 11 months after the country's devastating civil war ended with the overthrow of the Assad regime by opposition forces loyal to new President Ahmad Al-Sharaa.

Today, as Syrians return home in increasing numbers, the shattered country faces chronic shortages of inward investment, medicines, power and equipment.

According to the WHO, only 58 per cent of hospitals and 23 per cent of primary healthcare centres are fully functional today.

"Services on the ground remain very fragile…health needs are still rising," warned the UN agency's representative in Syria, Dr Christina Bethke.

She said that since the middle of the year, more than 400 health facilities have been affected by funding cuts and 366 have suspended or reduced services.

A total of 7.4 million people have seen their access to medicines and treatment shrink, WHO says.

In just two months, this has prevented 122,000 trauma consultations from happening and meant that 13,700 births have taken place without a skilled attendant.

"We still continue to see shortages of healthcare workers and the conditions to enable return of those skilled health professionals are still not necessarily in place," Dr. Bethke told journalists in Geneva via video from Damascus.

More than a million head home

Latest UN data indicates that more than 1.16 million Syrians have returned to their country since the fall of the Assad regime.

The lack of available healthcare is a key factor in dissuading more from coming home, in addition to the widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure, insufficient jobs and the ongoing volatile security situation.

According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, more than seven million Syrians remain displaced inside their country and more than 4.5 million still live abroad.

"Most people would prefer to come back with their families, so if you are contemplating a return to your beloved Syria, you'll want to know that there's a school there, that there's shelter there, that you have electricity and connectivity, that you have water," WHO's Dr. Bethke explained.

Imminent flashpoints

In Syria's northeast, Hassakeh National Hospital could see donor support run out next month.

It is the only comprehensive public hospital for more than 300,000 people. If funding fails, key services that will suffer likely include the ambulance and referral system, along with round-the-clock primary care in several camps.

"We also received reports from partners this week that support to al-Kasrah General Hospital in Deir-ez-Zor has been suspended, forcing most departments to halt operations, with only dialysis and physiotherapy continuing - affecting over 700,000 people," Dr Bethke added.

To maintain healthcare in Syria, the UN and health partners require $565.5 million.

Only around 20 per cent of this has been received. Of the $141.5 million that WHO needs this year for its work and that of its partners, $77 million remains unfunded, as of last month.

"Without predictable, multi-year support, the health system could unravel just as recovery is within reach," Dr Bethke insisted.