Public health consequences after ten years of the Syrian crisis: a literature review

Abstract

Ten years of the Syrian war had a devastating effect on Syrian lives, including millions of refugees and displaced people, enormous destruction in the infrastructure, and the worst economic crisis Syria has ever faced. The health sector was hit hard by this war, up to 50% of the health facilities have been destroyed and up to 70% of the healthcare providers fled the country seeking safety, which increased the workload and mental pressure for the remaining medical staff. Five databases were searched and 438 articles were included according to the inclusion criteria, the articles were divided into categories according to the topic of the article.Through this review, the current health status of the Syrian population living inside Syria, whether under governmental or opposition control, was reviewed, and also, the health status of the Syrian refugees was examined according to each host country. Public health indicators were used to summarize and categorize the information. This research reviewed mental health, children and maternal health, oral health, non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases, occupational health, and the effect of the COVID − 19 pandemic on the Syrian healthcare system. The results of the review are irritating, as still after ten years of war and millions of refugees there is an enormous need for healthcare services, and international organization has failed to respond to those needs. The review ended with the current and future challenges facing the healthcare system, and suggestions about rebuilding the healthcare system.Through this review, the major consequences of the Syrian war on the health of the Syrian population have been reviewed and highlighted. Considerable challenges will face the future of health in Syria which require the collaboration of the health authorities to respond to the growing needs of the Syrian population. This article draws an overview about how the Syrian war affected health sector for Syrian population inside and outside Syria after ten years of war which makes it an important reference for future researchers to get the main highlight of the health sector during the Syrian crisis.

COVID-19 and the irony of military expenditures: non-verbal semiotic discourse study

“…https://www.who.int/emergencies/situations/yemen-crisis ). After the ten years of the Syrian crisis, Syria health system has been devastated, up to 50% of the health infrastructures have been destroyed, and up to 70% of health workers have fled the country looking for safety and peace ( Alhaffar and Janos, 2021 ). Currently, we are very sad in what is happening between Russia and Ukraine.…”

The Overlooked Issue of Outpatient Combination Antibiotic Prescribing in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: An Example from Syria

“…In Syria, a disastrous war has affected health care provision, and the burden of infections, morbidity, and mortality continues to grow [ 10 ]. The gross domestic product (GDP) loss due to AMR is estimated to be between USD 2 billion and USD 159 billion per year over 40 years in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) (including Syria) [ 11 ].…”

“…Antibiotics are classified as prescription-only medication in Syria, requiring a physician’s prescription to be dispensed [ 13 ], but community pharmacists commonly dispense antibiotics over the counter [ 12 ]. Antibiotic resistance, resulting from erroneous prescribing and overprescribing antibiotics, is widespread in Syria [ 10 ]. To tackle this problem, gathering reliable data on the patterns of antibiotic use is the necessary first step.…”

The impact of war on the health system of the Tigray region in Ethiopia: a response to complaints

“…Our paper was very clear about its data sources, which included the interim government that was put in place by the Ethiopian Federal Government and reputable international organisations that were operating in the region during the study period. Unless Masebo et al believe that war-time data should never be published, these data sources are comparable to other war time publications and are as good as it gets given the limited access the world had to Tigray during the study period 2 3. We used multiple data sources including unpublished reports and reports from humanitarian organisations, which we explicitly described.…”

“…Unless Masebo et al believe that war-time data should never be published, these data sources are comparable to other war time publications and are as good as it gets given the limited access the world had to Tigray during the study period. 2 3 We used multiple data sources including unpublished reports and reports from humanitarian organisations, which we explicitly described. In the absence of direct and unfettered access to collect primary data (as is the case in the Tigray region), we believe the use of such diverse sources helps to cross validate the findings.…”