We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Union des Organisations de Secours et Soins Médicaux France (UOSSM France). We will be working together to improve the accessibility and quality of healthcare for people living in North-East Syria.
UOSSM France is an NGO that strives to provide humanitarian and medical support to all people affected by the war in Syria – and one of their priority areas is the strengthening of primary health care centres and of healthcare workers’ skills and knowledge.
Years of crisis have heavily disrupted the health system in Syria and up to 70% of health workers have left the country. Health-personnel shortages are particularly acute in areas affected by recent hostilities and displacement – such as the north-east region. In most communities, residents often have to travel two hours to reach the nearest primary health care center. All of these challenges have contributed to the increase in communicable and non-communicable diseases among the Syrian population.
This project seeks to strengthen health sector capacities by increasing the coverage, affordability and quality of health care services. It will be putting the building blocks in place for a strong primary healthcare system. This includes strengthening the existing North-East Syria Health Working Group, created to coordinate all stakeholders in the region.
PCI will conduct a situational analysis of the primary health care situation in north-eastern Syria, drawing on care packages developed for similar contexts, and develop an essential package of primary health care services and a training plan for the region’s health workforce. We will also draw on our experience of working in Syria on a number of different projects since 2017: supporting primary healthcare workers in partnership with WHO and local NGOs.
We share a joint understanding with UOSSM France that local leadership and local expertise are key to understand and effectively address the needs and priorities of the communities – with a strong focus on ‘co-creation’ – and we look forward to working together improve the availability and quality of healthcare for people in this region of Syria.