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Health as a bridge from emergency to recovery at the Syria Senior Officials Meeting in Oslo
23 November 2025, Oslo, Norway – At the Ninth Humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on Syria, WHO highlighted how essential health services can help guide the country’s transition from crisis response to early recovery. Co-hosted by the European Union and Norway, the meeting brought together senior officials from the Syrian authorities, donor governments, UN agencies and humanitarian partners.
WHO’s Public Health Officer Dr Wail Ismail visits a rehabilitation centre where a prosthetics technician supports a young girl during a follow-up check of her artificial limb. Photo credit: WHO
Christina Bethke, WHO Acting Representative to Syria, addressed the session on Syria’s transition toward early recovery. She drew on the Ministry of Health’s two-year strategic roadmap to show how targeted investments can stabilize services and strengthen national systems. The plan focuses on restoring priority facilities, reinforcing the workforce, and improving health financing and information systems.
Primary health centres, referral hospitals and outreach services remain the backbone of care across the country. Reflecting this, Bethke noted that “the facilities keeping people alive today are the same ones that will anchor dignified returns and local recovery tomorrow. If they close now, there is no credible pathway from emergency response to recovery.”
The meeting also underscored the urgent need to support Syria’s health workforce, which has been severely strained by years of conflict and economic hardship. “Infrastructure matters, but without people there is no health system,” Bethke said. “Treating health workers as a long-term national asset is one of the fastest and most practical bridges from relief to recovery.”
WHO and partners are backing labour market assessments, gap-filling in priority facilities, incentives for staff in under-served areas, and new opportunities for training, supervision and twinning with regional entities, while also working to strengthen Syria’s institutional capacity.
Ms. Bethke also highlighted how local health facilities can help communities take their first steps toward recovery. “In many places, the local health centre is one of the first public institutions that people see functioning after conflict,” she said. “When a clinic is safely rehabilitated, has clean water and reliable power, and offers mental health support, antenatal care, safe childbirth and newborn services, it signals that essential services are returning. These improvements help restore trust and support families as they begin rebuilding their lives.”
Across the meeting, partners agreed on the need to protect humanitarian health funding while allowing greater flexibility for early recovery. “Flexible, predictable financing aligned with the Ministry of Health’s two-year plan will allow Syrians to see one coherent offer, rather than competing agendas,” Bethke added.
WHO reaffirmed its commitment to supporting national leadership and strengthening coordination across humanitarian, development, and financial partners. With sustained collaboration, health can help safeguard lives today while laying foundations for stability, dignity, and recovery.
How community health workers help families in Al-Bab monitor their children’s growth
23 November 2025, Aleppo, Syrian Arab Republic – At Al-Bab Health Centre in eastern Aleppo, routine growth monitoring offers families reassurance that their children are developing well. For Mona Talrafadi, who visited the centre with her mother, the checkup confirmed she was healthy and thriving.
Community health worker Dumoo’ checks Mona Talrafadi’s height as part of regular growth monitoring at Al-Bab Health Centre in eastern Aleppo. Photo credit: WHO
Inside the community health section, community health worker Dumoo’ welcomed Mona and her mother with a gentle smile. She measured Mona’s height, weight and mid-upper arm circumference — simple but essential assessments that help detect early signs of malnutrition. All of Mona’s measurements were within normal ranges.
“We focus on catching any issues early,” says Dumoo’. “A few minutes of checking can prevent months of worry for a family. These visits help us understand how children are growing and whether they need extra support.”
After documenting the results, Dumoo’ sat with Mona’s mother to discuss healthy feeding practices, hydration, and the importance of regular follow-up appointments. “A lot of mothers tell us they feel overwhelmed,” she explains. “So we always try to give advice that is simple, practical, and fits their daily lives.”
For Dumoo’, the connection with parents matters as much as the measurements. “When a mother leaves here feeling more confident, that is success for us,” she says. “They trust us, and we want them to know we are always here to listen.”
A close view of a mid-upper arm circumference measurement taken during Mona’s health assessment. Photo credit: WHO
Mona’s mother agreed. “They explained everything clearly,” she says. “These visits help me feel confident about how to care for her.”
The services at Al-Bab Health Centre are delivered in coordination with the Ministry of Health and implemented on the ground through Alameen Organization, whose teams ensure essential health care remains available to communities with limited options.
Dumoo’ measures Mona Talrafadi’s mid-upper arm circumference during a routine growth-monitoring. Photo credit: WHO
Since late 2024, continued support from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) has helped WHO keep 50 health facilities operational across northwest Syria, including Al-Bab. This contribution has ensured uninterrupted access to primary, secondary, and specialized services – from essential medicines and supplies to dialysis care, which remains a growing need in the region.
How Maryam’s laboratory work keeps families in Al-Bab connected to care
17 November 2025, Aleppo, Syrian Arab Republic – When families arrive at Al-Bab Health Centre in eastern Aleppo, many stop first at the small laboratory tucked behind the consultation rooms. Inside, Maryam Ahmad Al-Khalaf works with calm precision – preparing samples, analyzing results, and reassuring patients who are anxious about what their tests might reveal.
Maryam Ahmad Al-Khalaf prepares a blood sample inside the laboratory at Al-Bab Health Centre in eastern Aleppo. Photo credit: WHO
Maryam was displaced from Deir Hafer several years ago and rebuilt her life in Al-Bab, where she now lives with her husband and three children. “This community became home for us,” she says. “Working here is my way of giving something back.”
As the centre’s laboratory technician, Maryam performs the full range of tests requested by doctors and midwives – from basic blood counts and blood glucose tests to infection markers that help identify conditions requiring urgent attention. These results guide nearly every clinical decision in the centre, making the laboratory a quiet but essential part of primary health care.
Maryam reviews laboratory results at Al-Bab Health Centre. Photo credit: WHO
Clinicians speak openly about how much they rely on her work. With limited resources and high patient loads, accurate diagnostics are the foundation of safe care. “Her results help us make the right decisions for our patients,” says one of the centre’s doctors. “In many cases, the lab findings determine whether someone can be treated here, needs referral, or requires close follow-up to prevent complications.”
The services at Al-Bab Health Centre are delivered in coordination with the Ministry of Health and implemented on the ground through Alameen Organization whose teams ensure that essential health care remains available to communities with limited options.
Since late 2024, continued support from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) has helped WHO keep 50 health facilities operational across northwest Syria, including Al-Bab. This contribution has ensured uninterrupted access to primary, secondary, and specialized services – from essential medicines and supplies to dialysis care, which remains a growing need in the region.
Maryam conducts microscopy work inside the laboratory at Al-Bab Health Centre. Photo credit: WHO
For Maryam, this stability is what allows her to serve people with dignity. “When the centre has what it needs, we can focus fully on patients,” she explains. “A single test result can change someone’s treatment plan. Reliable services mean we can detect issues early, before they become dangerous.”
And as she reflects on the support that keeps her laboratory functioning, she adds: “People here depend on these services. The support we receive helps us continue our work without interruption – and that means families get answers and care when they need it most.”
In Al-Bab, where health services play a vital role in daily life, Maryam’s work ensures families receive timely, quality care close to home – so no one must forgo essential diagnostic testing.
Families returning home join Syria’s Big Catch-Up to protect every child
13 November 2025 – Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic - At Barzeh Al-Balad Health Centre in Damascus, 35-year-old Yousra smiles as she holds her daughter’s newly issued vaccination card. “It feels good to be back home and to know my children are protected,” she says.
Miriam Chehab, a vaccination officer, comforts Yousra’s children after they received their routine vaccines at Barzeh Al-Balad Health Centre in Damascus. Photo credit: WHO
Yousra returned to Syria a month ago after nearly a decade in Lebanon. During her years of displacement, she struggled to keep up with her children’s vaccination schedule. Frequent moves and limited access to services meant her two-year-old daughter, Lyn Saleh Al-Akklah, missed several routine doses.
“When we came back, I didn’t know where to start,” she recalls. “Then one day, a community health worker approached me in the market and told me about the national catch-up campaign. I brought my children the next morning.”
At the centre, nurses reviewed her vaccination card from Lebanon and updated it with the vaccines Lyn had missed. “The team was kind and patient,” Yousra says. “They explained each vaccine and scheduled the next visit. I felt reassured.”
Now pregnant with her third child, she says resuming vaccinations is part of starting over. “After so many years abroad, I finally feel settled. I want my children to grow up healthy here in Syria.”
Continuing care for families
Across Damascus, parents like Aisha Mohammed are also ensuring their children are protected.
At Masaken Barzeh Health Centre, seven-year-old Lyn Mohammad Semaan Al-Zoubi continues to receive her vaccines on schedule. The centre is close to their home, and her mother, Aisha, regularly brings her follow-up appointments.
A vaccination officer in Damascus, holds seven-year-old Lyn Saleh Al-Akklah after checking her vaccination status at Barzeh Al-Balad Health Centre. Photo credit: WHO
The surrounding neighbourhood was heavily damaged during the conflict, but the rehabilitated health centre has remained an anchor for families seeking consistent care. Supported by the Ministry of Health, the centre has been part of wider national efforts to restore essential health services and strengthen routine immunization. “The nurses know my daughter and always take time to explain,” Aisha says. “It feels safe and familiar — I know she is protected.”
Reaching every child
Supervising these efforts is Miriam Chehab, a vaccination officer managing five health centres across the district. She has worked in the Expanded Programme on Immunization since 2012.
“I’ve seen families returning after displacement and others who never left but kept coming regularly,” she says. “This year we are seeing more awareness and trust.”
To reach hesitant parents, vaccination teams rely on dialogue and outreach. “We work with volunteers and community health workers in markets, schools and places of worship,” she explains. “Mobile teams also help reach families who cannot travel to health centres.”
Reaching these areas is not always easy. In As-Sweida, for instance, teams had to navigate mountainous terrain and remote villages amidst a volatile security situation to reach children who had missed their vaccines. Despite the challenges, they managed to reach over 15,700 children across the governorate — many of them in hard-to-access communities where health services remain limited.
A health worker administers an oral polio vaccine to a young girl during a door-to-door outreach activity in Damascus. Photo credit: WHO
Miriam hopes the progress seen during the Big Catch-Up will strengthen routine immunization nationwide. “As Syria rebuilds, our goal is not just to recover what was lost, but to make the system stronger – so every child can be reached on time.”
Families like Yousra’s and Aisha’s are among hundreds of thousands across Syria who have benefited from the nationwide Big Catch-Up campaign, led by the Ministry of Health with support from WHO, UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The activity covered 13 governorates, with an ongoing measles rubella vaccination campaign in northern Aleppo and Idlib from 2 to 13 November 2025. To date, health workers have screened the vaccination status of over 1.7 million children under five and vaccinated over 270,000 of them. Around 15,500 children had never received any vaccine — all have now been reached. In parallel, more than 1.6 million children received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and vitamin A supplements.
