Emergency aid in intra-state war and implications for post-conflict reconstruction: the Syrian medical system

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the dire state of the health system in war-torn Syria. It investigates the drastic changes that have transpired in health provisions since the beginning of the conflict and sheds light on emerging coping mechanisms. The article traces the militarisation of medical care and outlines the severe imbalances created in the provision of medical aid between different parts of the country. Independent of the political or military outcome of the present war, this article recommends an integrative approach towards health system recovery which is primarily anchored in the experience of those who continue to maintain medical care across the country.

KEYWORDS:

• Medical care
• intra-state war
• Syria
• humanitarian aid
• reconstruction

Notes

1. This is the initial World Bank definition adopted with countless variations by various major bodies in international development (cf. UN organisations, OECD, IMF).

2. They recorded 328 attacks carried out by the government and Russian forces as compared to 20 attacks by non-state armed groups and a further 10 attacks where the perpetrators remained unidentified.

3. Siege Watch estimates the actual numbers to be twice as high (Siege Watch and PAX 2016).