Children being vaccinated against polio. WHO Syria.2 December 2018 – The polio outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) detected in 2017 in Syria has been successfully stopped, with no international spread, according to experts.

An official outbreak response assessment, comprising experts in global public health, virology and epidemiology, reviewed all available surveillance and immunization evidence from the past 18 months, and conducted first-hand field visits to the affected areas, including the epicentre of the outbreak, Deir Ez-Zor. The group concluded that the outbreak could now be closed.

WHO supplies being delivered to Aleppo in 2017 29 November 2018 – At around midnight on 24 November 2018, WHO received unconfirmed reports of patients arriving in health facilities in Aleppo with symptoms that might be consistent with exposure to chemical agents. At approximately the same time, the United Nations Department of Safety and Security office in Syria reported unconfirmed information that the Al-Zahraa, Al-Khaldiyyeh and Nile Street areas of Aleppo city had been shelled with rounds of mortar fire that included an unknown type of gas. According to unconfirmed reports, dozens of patients were being admitted to Aleppo’s two public hospitals.

1 November 2018 – Fifty-five year old Um Mohammad from Ar-Raqqa governorate in the Syrian Arab Republic was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 years ago. There are no public hospitals in the governorate that can provide the treatment she needs, so she has to travel every 2 weeks to a national hospital in the neighbouring governorate of Hama for chemotherapy. The journey takes 8 hours each way.

A tearful Um Mohammad said that the constant travel, on top of her illness, has left her exhausted. “I have been travelling to Hama for almost 2 years now; I am on the verge of physical and financial collapse. ”Each trip costs Um Mohammad 20 000 Syrian pounds (the equivalent of US$ 43); a small fortune considering that two thirds of the population is living on less than US$2 a day. “I am trying to get by and borrowing money from friends and neighbours, but they are all suffering too and have no money to spare.”