President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, Nasr al-Hariri, sent a letter to the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Gulf Cooperation Council and Arab states regarding the recent detection of coronavirus infections in the liberated areas.
Al-Hariri thanked all parties and states that helped alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people as he urged everyone to provide the necessary support to confront the coronavirus pandemic.
He said that the health officials in the liberated areas are cooperating with the Gaziantep Center of the World Health Organization and the Health Cluster with regards to stemming the virus, in addition to the active participation of Syrian and international NGOs in investing the capabilities of these institutions to confront the disease in northwestern Syria.
Al-Hariri pointed out that there are more than four million civilians living in Syria’s northwest, adding that more than half of them are internally displaced while 1.25 million live in camps that lack the basic needs for a decent life.
He stressed that this complicated situation in the northwest, coupled with the fragile ceasefire and the risk of rapid pandemic outbreak, exacerbates the dangers civilians face on a daily basis.
Despite the enormous efforts being made by humanitarian organizations and the support being provided by donors, the health sector is still suffering from a scarcity of human and financial resources and lack of equipment to beat the challenges posed by the coronavirus
He pointed out that the ability of the health sector in the liberated areas to respond to emergencies is well below the international standards.
Al-Hariri called for the establishment of a center for humanitarian cooperation with all Arab states, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council in order to invest in the resources of institutions accredited by the World Health Organization and the Health Cluster. He also called for easing the acute shortages in medical equipment in order to implement precautionary measures to stem the coronavirus as well as securing basic needs to protect civilians in northwestern Syria from the deadly disease. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
