Syria cannot recover without a rebuilt health system The Syrian war

Last week, European Union and Syrian officials met in Brussels for high-level talks on the reconstruction of the country. The EU’s support for healthcare in Syria, including 14 million euros ($16.25m) to repair the Ar-Rastan hospital in Homs, is a significant contribution that deserves recognition.

Although the EU is showing how much investment can be made, the gap between what returnees are experiencing and what they need to live a healthy life remains a major barrier to the country’s return. After 14 years of war, Syria is facing a public health crisis that no government can solve alone.

Restoring health services in place will require a large-scale, coordinated effort from all countries.

A soon report written by my organization, Relief International, describes the looming crisis: many of the 3.7 million Syrians who have returned home are facing health care facilities that have been abandoned and struggled for years. According to our findings, 78 percent of returnees in Deir Az Zor reported that health care was not available. In al-Tebni province, 41 percent of the families surveyed said that at least one family member had not been able to access emergency care in the past six months. From staff and equipment shortages to long wait times, communities are facing barriers to managing life-or-death outcomes.

Across the 50 hospitals Relief International supports, our teams are seeing results every day. Children who arrive with malnutrition that should have been diagnosed months ago and adults with chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are not without medication. Pregnant women and their babies are put at risk without medical support and professional care during childbirth.

We also hear about people who stopped seeking care; they no longer believe that good services exist, are worth the trip, or can be trusted. For many, any available support is unaffordable.

Families like Aref in al-Tebni are still waiting for health care to be restored. When Aref returned home a few months ago, he found the local hospitals closed: the gates were closed, the workers had already left, and his pharmacy was out of the asthma medicine he needed. For a family that had already endured years of insecurity, it was heartbreaking to find that even though the home was still there, the health care was not.

Relief International groups have also seen the hidden wounds that the war has left in Syria. Our report found that 86 percent of the women interviewed suffered from anxiety and depression, due to the conflict and uncertainty of migration. Anxiety, grief, and trauma are common, yet psychological and social support remains very limited and limited.

These challenges affect all aspects of Syria’s recovery. How can Syria know peace when its people do not have peace of mind?

The increase in disability after war is also alarming and raises concerns about the quality of life on return. About 28 percent of Syria’s population – nearly double the world’s number – now lives with some form of disability, a number that continues to rise amid widespread landmines and unexploded ordnance damage, yet rehabilitation services are among the most lacking in the country.

Rebuilding the health system in Syria is, at its core, restoring life itself. This requires confronting the visible and invisible scars of war.

This means investing in primary care as the backbone of any recovery: hospitals, doctors, midwives and health workers, and delivery systems that allow people to be seen, identified and supported close to home.

It aims to promote mental health and mental health services as an important part of primary care throughout the country. Equally, it means monitoring services, especially for those who cannot afford to be left behind, including women and girls, children suffering from malnutrition, people with chronic diseases, and those with disabilities.

In the meantime, we must continue to support the refugees who remain. With health care in host countries severely limited due to a lack of aid, Syrians face barriers to critical care wherever they go. We must maintain essential services and maintain principles of safety, dignity, and choice in their return.

Restoring access to proper medical care in Syria begins with establishing health and quality of life in the country’s recovery. It requires government-wide cooperation and sustained support from the international community, bolstered by multi-year investment and technical assistance.

Last week’s meeting in Brussels marked an important change in international integration. Now other governments, donors and donors need to consider whether their support matches what Syria needs to heal and have a better and better future.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect Al Jazeera’s influence.