Summary

As of 22 August 2022, the total number of COVID-19 vaccines delivered to Syria through the COVAX Facility is 11 357 640 doses in addition to the 2 953 640 doses received through bilateral agreements. The available vaccines should enable Syria to reach more than 45% of its population.

Trends in COVID-19 vaccination coverage at the Whole of Syria level

Within its relentless efforts to raise COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Syria, the Ministry of Health recently conducted 2 intensified national COVID-19 vaccination campaigns targeting all people above 18 years of age in all Syrian governorates, encouraging people to take their vaccines and get better protection.

The 2 rounds of the campaign reached 182 000 and 165 000 people, respectively. The intensified risk communication and community engagement activities, prior to and during the campaign, increased people’s access to vaccines and encouraged communities to protect themselves.

WHO cooperated with health directorates in the governorates of Damascus, Lattakia, Homs, Hama, and Aleppo to train more than 300 volunteers on communication skills to mitigate vaccine hesitancy and raise vaccine uptake. The volunteers included nongovernmental organizations, community initiatives, religious leaders, as well as health personnel from the Directorates of Health. During the 2 campaigns, volunteers worked in parallel with vaccination teams to address fears, combat rumours and deliver adequate messages.

Challenges

16 August 2022 – WHO, together with the Relief Experts Association UDER as implementing agency, has bolstered the provision of primary health care services in northwest Syria by rendering the facilities in the towns of Sarmada, Tarmanin, Daret Azza and Zarzour fully operational. 

Due to the size and scope of the project – which took place between August 2021 and May 2022 – UDER had struck agreements with several other organizations on the ground. Thanks to immense efforts requiring daily coordination, the Mentor Initiative offered leishmaniasis treatment services; Physicians Across Continents delivered malnutrition services; Shafak Organization provided childbirth and nutrition services; the Syrian Immunization Group made various vaccination services available – including for tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, haemophilus influenzae type B, hepatitis B, measles, German measles, mumps and COVID-19; the Assistance Coordination Unit provided daily nutritional surveillance services; and the Qatar Red Crescent offered psychosocial services. 

This multi-partner approach proved highly effective in delivering th best possible health care to the people of northwest Syria.

During the project – supported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and its Syrian Cross-border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF) – 174 374 medical consultations were provided through the 4 health facilities (132% of the targeted 131 893), including for 98 064 internally displaced persons in the area. A total of 127 276 patients (equating over 159% of the targeted 80 000) were screened for temperature measurements. 

Over 70 health care workers (254% of the 28 originally targeted) were trained on various health topics. UDER also recruited 24 community health workers in connection to the 4 health care centres (10 in Sarmada; 6 in Tarmanin; 2 in Daret Azza; and 6 in Zarzour) to actively screen communities and refer individuals with health conditions to the facilities. The total number of people screened and referred to health services reached 4892 (230% of the planned target: 2125).

By the end of the project, community health workers had conducted 17 403 household sessions (103% of the targeted 16 896), which comprised health education and awareness, including on the preventative measures against COVID-19. 

For more information, please contact:   

Grattan Lynch
Communications Officer
E-mail: هذا البريد محمى من المتطفلين. تحتاج إلى تشغيل الجافا سكريبت لمشاهدته.

4 August 2022 - In response to the ongoing measles outbreak in north-west Syria (NWS), the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and its Gaziantep Field Office in Türkiye organized a measles surveillance and outbreak response workshop joined by 35 participants from WHO’s surveillance and immunization operational partners -- the Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) and the Syrian Immunization Group (SIG).

The three-day training was conducted by WHO’s Regional Office and WHO Gaziantep’s surveillance team, supported by the immunization team. Nine participants joined from NWS so that they could then relay and share the information gained from the training with the medical community and health care workers there.  

The training covered measles infection, prevention and control, case management, community engagement and enhanced surveillance -- with a special focus on surveillance reporting quality -- and included a case study which trainees engaged with over the course of the three days.

Prior to the workshop, WHO and partners had identified a need to increase capacity-building activities in the field for responding to measles surveillance and outbreaks in NWS.

For more information, please contact:

Grattan Lynch, Communications Officer
E-mail:  هذا البريد محمى من المتطفلين. تحتاج إلى تشغيل الجافا سكريبت لمشاهدته.

Damascus, 2 August 2022 – Italy has contributed 2 million euros to the World Health Organization to support efforts to vaccinate 40% of the targeted population in Syria by the end of 2022.

A number of interventions have so far been implemented at the national level to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination in Syria, including national vaccination campaigns in May and June 2022. During these two campaigns, the Ministry of Health mobilized over 6000 trained health workers to conduct COVID-19 vaccination activities at both fixed health facilities and through mobile medical teams across all governorates of the country.

Despite all these efforts, only 10% of the total population of Syria have received full vaccination. This low coverage is due to high vaccine hesitancy caused by the prolonged and complex crisis coupled with a deteriorating economic situation, both of which have triggered general fatigue among the Syrian population and impeded COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

“Italy recognizes the crucial role of health as an essential engine for the social and economic development of the population. This contribution is in line with the funds made available to WHO in 2020, at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, for a programme aiming at enhancing the national laboratory diagnostic capacity for timely confirmation of COVID-19, and integrates the distribution of almost 4 million doses of Johnson & Johnson donated by Italy at the beginning of 2022 through the COVAX facility,” said Mr Massimiliano D’Antuono, Chargé d’Affaires of the Italian Embassy in Damascus.

“Thanks to the collaboration with WHO, Italy guarantees its support to the health system, considering particularly the low vaccination rate in Syria against a global increase of positive cases. Therefore, this programme allows us to cover the operational costs to expedite the vaccination process and to reach all locations in Syria, confirming our support to the Syrian population” added Mrs Alessandra Piermattei, Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation for Lebanon and Syria.

The donation of the Italian Cooperation will support the operational costs of two rounds of intensified vaccination activities in all 14 governorates of Syria, including for internally displaced people, refugees and high-risk groups in formal and informal settlements, contributing to increased vaccination rates and reduction of morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the Syrian health system, already overburdened by the ongoing crisis and the depletion of health professionals and medical supplies,” said Dr Iman Shankiti, WHO Representative a.i. in Syria.

“WHO welcomes this generous funding from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, which will play a pivotal role in supporting the health system to scale-up COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country and protecting the lives of people on Syria,” Dr Shankiti added.

Earlier in 2022, Italy donated around 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility to boost higher vaccination rates in Syria. This new contribution is an additional milestone towards achieving a more resilient public health system and a healthier tomorrow for the Syrian population.