Syrian aid workers worry that cholera may spread if cross-border assistance is stopped
-
Salma Hossein
- . January 6, 2023
- . Update: January 6, 2023 8:22 pm
If the United Nations is forced to halt assistance delivery across the border from Turkiye, humanitarian workers working in the final opposition-held area of Syria worry that the cholera outbreak already ravaging the area will get worse.
The 4 million residents of the region, who endure appalling conditions, are highly reliant on food and medicine that are transported across the border thanks to a 2014 UN Security Council resolution that permitted such shipments against the Syrian government’s objections.
On Monday, the day before the current authorization expires, the Security Council is scheduled to vote on extending it for an additional six months. Health professionals in the region, which in northwest Syria includes the majority of the province of Idlib and portions of the province of Aleppo, fear the repercussions should Syria’s ally Russia veto it or impose more restrictions on the programme.
According to Dr. Zuhair Al-Qurat, the director of the health department in Idlib, “the capabilities of the health sector are already very weak, and we suffer from an acute scarcity of medicines, medical supplies, and serums.” He told Reuters that stopping cross-border aid will worsen the cholera outbreak in the area.
Read | Syria attack claims 10 lives; 52 extremists detained by Kurdish forces
Though diplomats claim Russia has signalled it will permit the renewal of the authorization, there is still ambiguity.
Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, told Reuters that Moscow would make a final decision on Monday since the execution of the current resolution, which was voted in July, was “far from our expectations.”
Top UN officials have warned that terminating the mission would be “catastrophic,” including assistance chief Martin Griffiths.
Since the outbreak started in September, Idlib and Aleppo have each had more than 14,000 suspected cholera cases, ranking them second and fourth worst-affected cities in Syria.
They are especially vulnerable since they depend on Euphrates River water for drinking and irrigating agriculture, and because the health sector is controlled by the opposition. More than ten years of war have ravaged Syria.
the equipment for eight cholera treatment centres with more than 200 beds, hygiene kits, chlorine tablets to disinfect water, and other supplies are all permitted under the UN’s authorization. Non-governmental organisations also deliver clean water by truck to houses.
Three relief workers told Reuters that without it, multinational NGOs would lack international legal protection and would be unable to provide the pace and volume of aid required.
Large donor nations have faith that aid provided through the UN will not be politicised, improperly allocated, or captured by extremist armed organisations, which helps explain why.
A unique problem is presented by the chlorine used to disinfect water. The chemical has been used as a weapon of war in Syria, raising worries among donors that would delay its acquisition for the treatment of cholera by humanitarian organisations other than the UN, according to the aid workers.
“These clinics and hospitals would be shut down. Fluid, serums, injections, and oral treatments that were being transported expressly for the northwest Syria cholera epidemic will not be available, according to Mohammad Jasem, the International Rescue Organization’s coordinator for northwest Syria.
Osama Abou el-Ezz, the head of the Syrian-American Medical Society (SAMS) in Aleppo, said that even if the resolution is extended for a further six months, health workers have already suffered from short-term renewals that have prevented them from making long-term plans.
