New Syria inherits collapsed healthcare system
The new Syrian administration is inheriting a healthcare system devasted by years of civil war.
Since 2011, the majority of healthcare workers have fled the country and the UN says more than half of the country’s health infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged.
Mufaddal Hamadeh, president of the Syrian American Medical Society, who was operating in the country’s northwest during the conflict, explains the situation:
New Syria to face economic crisis
One of the top challenges the new Syrian administration will have to tackle is the economy. Syria was already in bad shape before the start of the civil war, but throughout the conflict, the country’s economic crisis further deepened.
- In 2023, the Syrian pound depreciated substantially by 141 percent against the US dollar, according to a report by the World Bank.
- Consumer price inflation is estimated to have risen by 93 percent, exacerbated by government subsidy cuts, it added.
- About 90 percent of the population lives in poverty, 12.9 million are food insecure and 6.8 million are internally displaced, UN figures show.
To tackle these issues, experts say Syrian officials will have to gain access to vital oil fields that are in the north and east of the country under the control of Kurdish-led forces. They will also have to convince Western powers to lift sanctions on the country, as well as to remove HTS – the strongest political and military actor in Syria today – and its leader from the “terror” list.
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