Humanitarian crisis grows

MSF Canada’s executive director Stephen Cornish recently returned from a two-week visit to Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. We talked to him about the humanitarian situation inside Syria, as well as the situation of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries. Can you describe some of the healthcare needs you witnessed? We usually only hear about people killed by shelling and mortars. But there are many silent casualties of the conflict. Many civilians die because they don’t have access to healthcare. People with treatable diseases such as diabetes or cancer can no longer get the treatment they need. An increasing number of women have miscarriages or give birth prematurely. Children, especially babies under two years old, cannot access vaccinations and are particularly vulnerable to diseases.   Iraq 2013 © Michael Goldfarb/MSF Syrians in front of the MSF clinic in Domeez refugee camp in Iraq. Water and sanitation in camps for displaced people is a major problem. There are often open sewers and a lack of access to clean drinking water or latrines. People live in very crowded conditions. We are also starting to see an increase in infectious diseases. Over the cold and damp winter months we saw hepatitis A and typhoid. We also increasingly see diarrheal diseases and skin infections like scabies. The situation is likely to get worse during the hot summer months. Infectious diseases are usually rife in these conditions.  How difficult is it for Syrians to access medical care...
Source: MSF News - Category: Global & Universal Tags: Syria NEWS Violence Source Type: news