No WHO aid sent to northeastern Syria – Autonomous Administration

 Qamishli – North-Press Agency
Agid Mishmish – Abdulhalim Sulaiman   

The Health Board of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria said that it had not reported any official information from the World Health Organization (WHO) about sending medical aid to its regions, after the latter announced the delivery of 30 tons of aid to the area via Qamishli.  

On Monday, the WHO tweeted that "it managed to deliver a medical shipment of 30 tons overland to Qamishli, northeastern Syria, as part of the WHO response to the urgent health needs for the most vulnerable population in the region," without clarifying who received the aid.     

In a telephone statement to North Press, Dr. Jiwan Mustafa, co-chair of the Health Board of the Autonomous Administration, said that they have not reported any official information from the WHO about sending medical aid to the areas of the Autonomous Administration.  

Mustafa said that they heard of thr sending aid to the area, but "they have not received anything from the WHO about what and how much aid is being sent and whether they will provide it to the Autonomous Administration or not."

In a statement issued in April, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria held the WHO responsible for the spread of coronavirus in its regions, after the organization revealed the death of an infected person with coronavirus in April in the National Hospital in Qamishli, which is under the control of the Syrian government.  

In all northeastern Syrian regions, which has a population of about five million, there are 27 ICUs and 5 CT scan devices. Also, there are no specialized staff or enough hospitals in the region to deal with any possible spread of the virus, which prompted civil organizations early last month to warn of the possibility of a humanitarian catastrophe in the region if the virus spread.