Tonight, we are saving lives in refugee camps on the borders of#Syria, where tens of thousands have fled violence.http://dld.bz/bNFcH
7:15 PM - 30 Sep 12 · Details
New Medical Aid Arrives as Violence in Syria Takes More Deadly TurnMedicines and supplies will treat 20,000 people amid deepening crisisSeptember 4, 2012 | |
Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Ali, www.trust.org
Syrian refugees rest upon their arrival at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria
In response to a deadly escalation in violence in war-torn Syria and a rapidly growing need for medical care in refugee camps, a second AmeriCares shipment of urgently needed medical aid arrived on September 3 to help families in crisis.
The growing violence has prompted a mass exodus from the country, with an estimated 150,000 Syrians escaping to neighboring Jordan. AmeriCares medical aid supports a partner working to care for sick and wounded refugees in the Al Zaatri camp in Jordan, where 25,000 Syrians live in desperate conditions. The most recent shipment fills a crucial gap in health care needs, supplying enough antibiotics and other medicines to treat 20,000 people suffering from pain, infection, injuries and illnesses including diabetes, respiratory problems and other chronic health conditions.
As the civil conflict rages, many Syrian hospitals and health centers have closed, and the fighting has caused significant damage to the pharmaceutical plants that produced 90 percent of the medicine in the country, according to U.N. agencies. Although there are severe logistical barriers to humanitarian assistance within Syria, medical aid distribution is possible – and urgently needed – for displaced Syrians in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
Photo Courtesy of REUTERS/Ali Jarekji, www.trust.org
Syrian refugee girl smiles at the camera as she stands near her parents' tent at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria
In mid-August, our first air shipment of medical aid for was rushed to Jordan in response to an urgent request for basic medical supplies. Combined with the September shipment, AmeriCares has supplied partners with a total of 37,000 course treatments to help victims of the conflict. In addition, our Medical Outreach Program is providing medical aid to volunteer doctors traveling throughout the region to treat the sick and injured.
“With tens of thousands of people flooding densely populated urban areas and tent camps where disease spreads rapidly, aid organizations on the ground are struggling to meet the demand for primary care services,” said AmeriCares Director of Emergency Response Garrett Ingoglia.”
AmeriCares has been delivering critically needed medicines and relief supplies to the Middle East for more than 25 years in response to civil conflict as well as humanitarian crises.
