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Ministry of Health and WHO conclude JEE self-evaluation workshop to enhance health security
Damascus – The Ministry of Health of the Syrian Arab Republic and the World Health Organization (WHO) collaborated during a 4-day workshop aimed at enhancing the country’s health security through the self-assessment of International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 core capacities under the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) Framework. Held from 12 to 15 March 2023, the workshop fostered multisectoral collaboration among stakeholders from national and sub-national levels to improve health security in Syria.
The JEE is a voluntary and collaborative process aimed at assessing a country's core capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats under the IHR 2005. This process helps countries identify critical gaps in their human and animal health systems, allowing them to prioritize opportunities to enhance preparedness and response to public health emergencies.
"The 2019 JEE session provided a crucial foundation for this workshop, which represents a significant step forward in developing a comprehensive roadmap for enhancing Syria’s health response to the ongoing crisis. Through the collaborative efforts of WHO and the Ministry of Health, we aim to build capacity and strengthen preparedness to effectively manage public health emergencies. WHO is committed to working with all partners to ensure that the people of Syria have access to the health care services they need and deserve," said Dr Iman Shankiti, WHO Representative in Syria.
The workshop included technical presentations, group work, and plenary discussions covering the 19 technical areas of the JEE. Participants from various sectors, including food safety, zoonotic diseases, environmental health, and points of entry, attended the workshop.
"Facilitating the intermediation of IHR and JEE, this workshop identified strengths and gaps to ensure minimum capacity for early detection, investigation, and response to public health. The discussion was open, and all participants were keen to improve the health situation and pursue global health security," said Dr Dalia Samhouri, WHO Emergency Preparedness and International Health Regulations Regional Manager.
As a result of the self-assessment workshop, the Syrian Ministry of Health and WHO have identified several areas of improvement. These recommendations include reviewing and updating legislation, involving the private health care sector and civil society organizations in ensuring health security, accelerating the formation of the General Food Safety Authority and the National Food Safety Council, and adopting a comprehensive national plan for infection prevention and control, among others.
A major outcome of the self-assessment workshop is the planned Joint External Evaluation mission scheduled to take place in May 2023. This mission will assess the country’s progress in addressing the identified gaps and implementing the recommendations made during the self-assessment workshop.
WHO and Ministry of Health collaborate to enhance Syria’s medical supply chain
21 March 2023, Damascus, Syria - The World Health Organization (WHO) has partnered with the Ministry of Health in Syria to hold a workshop, which, starting yesterday, aims to assess the national medical supply chain. This critical initiative will review essential processes, analyse distribution mechanisms and provide strategic solutions to establish a national logistics management system.
24 hours under the rubble: 10-year-old Fatima lives to tell her story
16 March 2023 – Every day, 10-year-old Fatima leaves the tent she now calls home to meet with the doctors at Harim General Hospital. She is undergoing therapy to recover from the injuries she was left with after surviving nearly 24 hours under the rubble of her collapsed home.
Like most families, Fatima slept soundly in the dawn hours of 6 February 2023. When a deafening sound forced her eyes open, it was to see the walls of her room crashing down before she had a chance to run. It is easy, if horrifying, to imagine what went through her mind: What happened? Where are my parents? Are they dead? Am I dead? Will I ever be found? How will they know I am here? Can they hear me? Fatima Marshan is 10 years old. She lives in Idlib Governorate’s Bisnia village, in Syria.
When the civil defense teams rescued Fatima and her family, she was directly referred to Harim General Hospital. Operated by the Social Development International nongovernmental organization, the hospital is part of the WHO-supported integrated primary health care Harim network and one of the key health facilities receiving patients injured in the earthquake.
Once her condition stabilized and she was discharged from the hospital, Fatima returned to her village, but there was no longer a house to go to. Instead, the 10-year-old continues her treatment and physical therapy from the tent where she now lives with her family.
While visiting Fatima, a member of the WHO team inquired after her health. “My health is good. I still live in a tent with my family in Harim city, but I feel much better now,” she replied, “Doctors are currently changing the bandages and following up on my physical therapy. After my recovery, I intend to continue studying. I am in the fifth grade now!”
Fatima will continue to receive supervision and follow up treatment at the Harim General Hospital until her full recovery.
Syria health emergency: 12 years of crisis topped by deadly earthquake
15 March 2023 – Even before the earthquake, the humanitarian crisis in Syria had been steadily worsening since 2011. Ravaged by over a decade of ongoing conflict that has led to major socioeconomic decline, huge population displacement, the erosion of a once-solid health system, COVID-19, and the spread of transmissible diseases, such as cholera and measles, Syria was in no way prepared to face a natural disaster of such proportions as the 6 February 2023 earthquake.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been providing health care support on the ground through it all, offering trauma care to victims, treating patients with chronic and communicable diseases, providing routine immunizations, maternal and neonatal care, and mental health services, among other life-sustaining support. In the first 24 hours after the earthquake, WHO immediately responded with life-saving supplies and equipment, and has been providing increasing technical and logistical support since.
The time has come for Syria to rebuild a resilient and responsive health system capable of catering to the urgent needs of a population who have suffered extensively for over a decade with silent resilience and an inspiring will to live.
» Syria: 12 years of health emergency infographic
