This is the second time that WHO has provided medicines and supplies to help meet urgent health needs in Douma. A first shipment was delivered on 15 March 2018. “These medical supplies are vitally important to support the clinics andhospitals that are treating patients who have suffered severe deprivation over the past few years as a result of the intense fighting in the area," said Elizabeth Hoff, WHO Representative in Syria. “WHO is working with the Directorate of Health and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to assess the health status of people in eastern Ghouta and make sure that WHO is filling gaps and meeting needs,” she added.
A WHO team who recently visited eastern Ghouta with SARC medical staff and reported that unexploded ordnance remained a serious threat to families returning to their homes. According to a SARC doctor, a family of 4 was badly injured when a mine was detonated. Moreover, the debris of collapsed buildings poses a serious environmental health hazard. Douma has only 5 functioning health care facilities for a population of more than 23 000 families. Many citizens who have returned to Douma have found that their homes have been damaged or destroyed and that much of the town’s infrastructure, including health care services, have been severely damaged.
