DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Aliya al-Ahmad tries to secure money to buy medicine for her son, so the woman is forced to work and reduce her family’s expenses for that, among lack of medicine in medical centers and hospitals in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria.
Al-Ahmad, 38, from the village of al-Tal, 11 km west of Deir ez-Zor, is a mother for three children, one of whom suffers from a chronic disease and persistently needs medicine, which is unavailable in nearby medical centers.
Health sector in Deir ez-Zor needs big medical support, including equipment and medicine, and constructing medical centers, amid widespread of plagues and diseases, in addition to high costs of medicine’s prices.
In late 2022, different areas of Syria witnessed cholera outbreak, as World Health Organization (WHO) reported that cholera cases in all Syrian governorates have risen with 56.879 suspected cases, including 98 deaths between August 25 and December 3.
Like other people in Deir ez-Zor, al-Ahmad complains about being unable to buy medicine and the absence of medication in the medical centers.
She calls for providing medical support for the region, especially amid deteriorating the economic situation.
The region suffers from a bad medical situation, forcing the residents to pass long distances to receive treatment in areas supported by organizations, as the organizations do not operate in Deir ez-Zor under the pretext of deterioration of security situation in the region.
In October 2022, Tareq Ibrahim, a director of al-Kasrah Hospital, west of Deir ez-Zor, said that support provided by local and international organizations is “insufficient”, in light of the region’s need for health support.
Suliman al-Okla, 45, from the village of al-Hissan, 12 km west of Deir ez-Zor, said that the medical sector in the governorate is miserable.
“Most of the residents head towards the governorates of Hasakah, northeast Hasakah, and Raqqa, northern the country, to receive treatment,” he added.
Due to bad security and living conditions, most of doctors and medical workers migrated, affecting the health sector in the governorate, according to residents.
Khalaf al-Jasim, 48, from the village of al-Tar, 12 km west of Deir ez-Zor, said that the western part of the governorate lacks hospitals and medical centers, as there are only two hospitals, including al-Kasrah Hospital, which are insufficient.
The health committee, affiliated with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), works on restoring al-Kasrah Hospital that was established in 2010, consisting of three floors that were damaged during battles to expel Islamic State (ISIS) at hands of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) supported by the US-led Global Coalition.