At least 30 dialysis patients in the besieged eastern Ghouta are in dire need of access to lifesaving treatment. A 60 year-old woman died this week due to the lack of dialysis treatment, bringing the total number of deaths resulting from this disease to 13, a medical source said on Tuesday.
Civilians in eastern Ghouta continue to suffer from the brutal effects of siege by regime forces and their allies. Coupled with escalating aerial bombardment and ground attacks, the encircled suburbs and their residents suffer a complete lack of access to lifesaving medication, supplies, and adequate nutrition.
The Medical Office in Douma said that the Department of Hemodialysis in the Specialized Hospital in the district was put out of service after it has been directly hit by the Assad regime and Russian air forces. It was the only remaining department that performed hemodialysis sessions in the rebel-held eastern Ghouta.
The Office said that the deceased woman was in urgent need for a hemodialysis session after she developed uremic encephalopathy, which is an organic brain disorder that develops in patients with acute or chronic renal failure.
The failure of the international community and humanitarian organizations to urgently deliver life-saving medical supplies will have deadly consequences for patients, the Office warned.
Medical staff and doctors have repeatedly sent out desperate pleas for NGOs, especially for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, to demand an immediate end to the indiscriminate bombardment of the area and the introduction of life-saving medical supplies. They said that hospitals and medical facilities are unable to keep up with the constant influx of casualties from airstrikes and bombings, citing many deaths, and many losing limbs from the attacks.
The dire medical situation in eastern Ghouta was compounded by lack of the tools and technicians to repair medical equipment that was put out of service, according to the Office.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said it “remain extremely concerned for the safety and protection of more than 400,000 people who remain besieged in eastern Ghoutah in Syria.”
“The last UN inter-agency mission to the area was in late October 2016 and civilians currently have limited access to critical food, health and nutrition assistance,” said Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General on Monday.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria Ali Zaatari warned of an imminent humanitarian disaster unless an immediate humanitarian access is granted to those in need in the provinces of Rural Damascus and Idlib.
Zaatari called for immediate access to the besieged towns in these two provinces where civilians suffer daily violence and lack of basics. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
