Today, when Elizabeth Hoff, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO)
representative in Syria, walks to her office through the wintry streets
of central Damascus, she passes families of refugees shivering in the
cold. They have come to the capital for security and because it is one
of the few places where the hospitals are still open.
“It really breaks my heart,” she says, her voice, which until now has recounted official statistics in steady stoic monotone, cracking with emotion.
“I have been in Syria for a year and a half and the difference in that time is devastating to see. The healthcare system has totally, totally broken down. Have you seen a child build up a beautiful Lego house? And then someone has stepped all over it. This is what the health system in Syria looks like when you get outside Damascus.” Nearly three years since the outbreak of the civil war, Syria is now in an unprecedented situation. It is the first state ever to have established a fully functioning, highly effective, 21st-century healthcare system – and then seen it collapse.
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“It really breaks my heart,” she says, her voice, which until now has recounted official statistics in steady stoic monotone, cracking with emotion.
“I have been in Syria for a year and a half and the difference in that time is devastating to see. The healthcare system has totally, totally broken down. Have you seen a child build up a beautiful Lego house? And then someone has stepped all over it. This is what the health system in Syria looks like when you get outside Damascus.” Nearly three years since the outbreak of the civil war, Syria is now in an unprecedented situation. It is the first state ever to have established a fully functioning, highly effective, 21st-century healthcare system – and then seen it collapse.
Read more
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