MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – Subhi suffers from vision loss, back pain, and a stomach ulcer. “My daily medication is unavailable in the camp’s dispensary,” he tells North Press.
Subhi al-Hassan, 65, an IDP in the Old Eastern Manbij camp, has many old-age-related diseases. The hardships and conditions of displacement and lack of medicine aggravate his illness.
The IDPs in Manbij camps in northern Syria complain about a severe shortage of medicine due to a lack of support given to camps, as well as the withdrawal of humanitarian organizations from areas held by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), whose officials have warned of a humanitarian crisis.
The withdrawal of a number of NGOs from areas and camps in North and East Syria is attributed to the successive Turkish attacks the region witnesses and increasing activities by Islamic State (ISIS).
Al-Hassan, similar to many other IDPs, suffers from the lack of medication during harsh winter months which leads to an increase in the spread of diseases other than the ones he already suffers from.
The elderly man is helpless and is in need of an urgent eye surgery, which would cost him 350.000 Syrian pounds ($52) per eye. The treatment costs 3 million SYP ($448) at a private hospital in Manbij.
The IDPs in Manbij camps complain about a lack of support from humanitarian organizations operating in the region and little assistance, particularly medical assistance.
Al-Hassan told North Press that he needs penicillin, painkillers, and eye drops, which all are unavailable in the camp’s dispensary. The condition of his eyes requires eye drops which cost 5.000 SYP ($0,74) outside the camp.
He pleads for his eye surgery to be paid for and for the camp’s dispensary to receive the necessary medication, in order to ease the burden on the camp’s population.
In June 2022, the AANES called upon the United Nations to take responsibility for and support the thousands of IDPs and refugees scattered in dozens of camps in the region.
Maryam al-Thalji, 60, an IDP in the New Eastern Manbij camp, suffers from different illnesses, but has had a nearly-identical experience.
Al-Thalji has a heart disease, and chronic pain in her head and legs. The lack of medicine has only aggravated her condition, wearing down her already-weak body.
The old women said the medicine she needs is unavailable at the camp’s dispensary.
The makeshift camps in Manbij and its countryside hold 1.954 families (9.786 individuals), whereas permanent camps hold 1.012 families (5.190 individuals), most from Maskana and Deir Hafer in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, according to the AANES Social Affairs and Labor Committee in Manbij.
Al-Thalji appeals to the UN and humanitarian organizations to provide more types of medicine for the camp’s dispensary and to support the camps.
The camps in AANES-held areas have been the site of aggravated suffering as a result of the failure of NGOs and the UN to provide humanitarian and medical support. The withdrawal of humanitarian organizations exacerbated their situation, according to AANES officials.
The closure of al-Ya’rubiyah (Tel Kocher) border crossing with Iraq has increased the sufferings of the IDPs in camps and residents of the region as well.
In July 2014, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2165 which authorized the UN to deliver cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria through four crossings: al-Ramtha crossing with Jordan, Bab al-Salameh and Bab al-Hawa with Turkey, and al-Ya’rubiyah with Iraq, without the consent of the Syrian government.
In January 2020, UN Res. 2504 was adopted which reduced the number of border crossings to only Bab al-Salameh and Bab al-Hawa for six months open to renewal in a special meeting by the UNSC.
Since July 2020, Bab al-Hawa has been the only crossing kept open to UN aid based on Resolution 2533 (2020), while the use of the others was curtailed.
Mayada Muhammad, administrator at the Manbij camps’ dispensary, attributes the lack of medicine to a lack of support, describing it as “very little and almost nonexistent.”
The medical support is limited to some inflammation drugs and painkillers, although there are chronic and incurable diseases. The dispensary needs support to be able to provide the medications needed by patients in the camp, according to Muhammad.
She noted that many patients are referred to Manbij hospitals due to a lack of resources and the inability to provide treatment.
Muhammad hopes that the dispensary is supplied with all types of medications to be able to provide suitable service, and not only painkillers.