Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition – Syria
Department of Media and Communications
April 18, 2020
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) warns of the dangers of the continued negligence of the conditions in the Rukban refugee camp as well as the consequences of the shortages of food supplies and the lack of healthcare, especially amid the dangers associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
The SOC reaffirms the responsibilities of international organizations and bodies, especially the United Nations and the World Health Organization, with regards to the plight of civilians trapped in the camp in southern Syria.
The camp is home to around 20,000 displaced people who are suffering lack of efficient healthcare as the medical staff in the camp is made up solely of paramedics and nurses.
The SOC stresses the need to meet the needs that the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) already highlighted, most importantly the dispatching of at least ten doctors with specific specializations. These needs also include the establishment of a hospital, personal protection equipment from the virus, sanitation, drinking water, medicines, sterilizers, and bandages. There is also a need for training and awareness-raising campaigns about the pandemics and ways of prevention as well as for laboratory for basic tests and a mechanism for collecting, transporting, and testing of samples from the suspected cases.
The conditions in the camp are extremely dire as it has been under tightened blockade for more than a year, coupled with Jordan’s tightening of the regulations amounting to an actual closure of the borders.
Patients in the camp are at serious risk of death. Their fate depends largely on urgent action by the relevant organizations.
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