Maintaining the delivery of  life-saving and life sustaining health services to affected population This project aims to strengthen access and delivery of essential, integrated and comprehensive package of health services to the affected population in four governorates: Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Da’a with specific focus on rural and newly accessible areas. Reference to HNO report 2021, As the Syria crisis approaches its tenth year, the health system remains heavily disrupted. While attacks on health care in 2020 fell by 67 per cent329 compared to 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with economic downturn in the country, has pushed the health system to the brink. 

With just 58 per cent of hospitals and 53 per cent of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) fully functional,333 the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated weaknesses in the health system. 2020 saw 39,773 COVID-19 cases and over 1,300 deaths reported across Syria,334 but as the outbreak continues, self-reported compliance with preventive measures remains below 50 per cent335 while laboratory capacity and access to testing are also below recommended levels. 

Moreover, In 2020, households and health workers alike experienced increased stress, placing additional demand on mental health services. Essential health services were disrupted as agencies and health workers alike rushed to respond to COVID-19. Due to cumulative effects of concurrent crises, cost of health services lack of medicines, supplies or health staff and fear of exposure to COVID-19 have replaced distance, over-crowding and long wait times as the main self-reported barriers to health access339 with persons with disabilities disproportionately affected. Disrupted medication supply chains, particularly for psychotropic drugs and Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) medicines, were previously identified as a key gap in the health response and a contributor child mortality.

Dramatic increases in food insecurity can worsen already-elevated levels of anemia in Women of Reproductive Age (WRA),346 posing a risk to adverse health outcomes for both mother and child, and, when coupled with diarrhoeal disease, can exacerbate the risk of poor malnutrition outcomes in children under five years. Amid growing reliance on negative coping mechanisms – including child marriage –survivors of GBV often rely on health facilities as a way to gain access to specialized services when no other relief can be safely sought out. 

Furthermore, the increased sector PiN requires the sector to renew its efforts to protect vulnerable groups, particularly in access-constrained areas, by ensuring the availability of life-saving and life-sustaining essential health services. Among the 12.43 million people in need of health services in 2021, 1.41 million are children U5 while 3.32 million are WRA, including 498,480 women who are expected to become pregnant in 2021.350 An additional 536,753 older people are likely to require health services, as well as those with early onset NCD, which is estimated to account for 45 per cent of all mortality in Syria.

Consequently, WHO through sub-contracting national NGOs that already have existence /access to the targeted locations endeavors to sustain health services delivery to the most vulnerable groups inclusive of men, women, children, elderly people and persons with disability at all levels: primary, secondary, Trauma, rehabilitation and MHPss to 359,665 beneficiaries. 

So that Improved access to quality, lifesaving and life-sustaining health services across all levels of the health system for the most vulnerable people at areas with high severity of needs is secured in line with the Universal Health Coverage (SDG 3) and well-being, as it is a critical element in the WHO’s Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives , Well-being for All and leaving no one behind.