In response to the critical health needs in Dar’a governorate, WHO has supported 424 500 people by providing local health authorities with 25 metric tonnes of life-saving, chronic disease medicines and intravenous fluids, including multivitamins for children. "This breakthrough delivery will bring much needed medical supplies to vulnerable populations in one of the areas most in need of medical assistance in Syria," said Elizabeth Hoff, WHO Representative in Syria.
Due to the challenging security situation, this is WHO’s second delivery to Dar’a in 2014 – last March, the Organization supported health authorities and local nongovernmental organizations with medical assistance for over 110 000 beneficiaries.
With a host population of over 1 million people and 264 500 internally displaced persons, 635 500 of whom are in need of humanitarian assistance, the health system in the governorate is severely overburdened: Dar’a has nine public hospitals, five of which are out of service and three are only partially functioning, with the one operational hospital serving a population of 256 750.