Severe snowstorm in northwest Syria places health services in impossible situation
26 January 2022, northwest Syria – As a snowstorm devastated the conflict zone of northwest Syria, WHO and the Health Cluster mobilized efforts to deploy rescue health services to the affected region, home to some 4.4 million people with little to no infrastructure.
On top of COVID-19, a severe snowstorm swept through northwest Syria on the night of 18 January, with temperatures plummeting as low as -15 ºC. A lack of fuel and heat, logistical difficulties, and delivery shortages – just some of the area’s daily challenges – were further exacerbated by the dangerously cold weather and the heavy snowfall. More than 59 camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) were damaged, affecting the lives of over 88 000 Syrians.
WHO was particularly concerned with the provision of immediate health services to the affected areas in the Afrin district. “We are receiving reports of extra needs for medicine and more referral services,” said Mahmoud Daher, Head of the WHO Gaziantep Field Presence, adding that reports of the closure of health facilities due to the extreme weather conditions had also been received.