Northwest Syria: Earthquake Causes Medical Crisis
SitRep February 18, 2023
The medical facilities in Syria’s northwest face a dire supply, infrastructure, logistics, and workforce shortage. As of February 18, the death toll in Syria’s northwest reached 4,600, while over 10,000 injuries await urgent medical care.
Idlib Health Directorate, which services an area about the size of Lebanon, has only 50 medical facilities, 13 of which are equipped for surgical procedures. Of Aleppo Health Directorate’s 19 modest urgent care facilities, only eight provide surgical procedures.
Idlib and Aleppo’s total number of medical professionals is 7,300, with only 2,400 specialized physicians, indicating a shortage of medical doctors per capita. Health Directorates in both Idlib and Aleppo stated that 23 medical professionals died in the quake.
While the total capacity of medical beds in all those facilities combined is at most 1,700 beds, a single facility, Harem Hospital, announced that it had received more than 3,200 cases since the earthquake, with only 66 medical professional staff to handle them. Other hospitals, such as Salqin and Al Amal, announced receiving more than 2,200 injury cases but have a total capacity of only 70 beds and 102 professional medical staff.
The Health Clusters in Aleppo and Idlib are reporting urgent needs for basic medical supplies such as serums, gauze, bandages, painkillers, medical plasters, and blood bags in addition to fuel for the generators, as well as burial bags.
In addition, and to further worsen the situation, 55,000 people are now displaced and homeless, making a sustained medical crisis and disease outbreak likely. As of February 18, the health directorates suspect northwest Syria could face over 93,000 cholera cases.
Urgent needs: Ventilator Devices -Surgical Kits- Orthopedic surgical kits -Neurological surgical kits- Anesthesia Kits.
Medical Devices needed: Intensive care beds- X-ray machines- Bracket devices- CT Coaxial Devices- Operation rooms.
The following links display the specific and detailed needs of Idlib & Aleppo.
