Syria
Syria has been in a state of conflict since 2011 when a peaceful revolution was violently suppressed by the government. Over 14 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes over the past decade and seven out of ten Syrians require humanitarian assistance. The northwest remains outside government control and is frequently subject to the force of the regime and its Russian allies.
Healthcare institutions and workers have been under targeted attack since the start of the conflict. International humanitarian and human rights law have been broken with the use of chemical weapons, barrel bombs, the dropping of cluster munitions, and targeted airstrikes on hospitals.
Our action in Syria
volunteering in aleppo
Our Co-Founder David volunteer his surgical skills in eastern Aleppo in 2012, 2013, and 2014. After hours of operating he shared his knowledge with local Syrian doctors.
SURGERIES IN IDLIB
When the people of Aleppo were forcibly displaced in December 2016, David travelled to Idlib, northwest Syria, to operate on the injured and help the wounded who left the city.
FIRST FRONTLINE COURSE
Our first ever frontline surgical training course was run in Gaziantep, Turkey, for Syrian surgeons in March 2016. That December, another 32 surgeons were upskilled.
50 SURGEONS TRAINED
In July 2019, 24 surgeons were trained in Syria, and another 26 Syrians were empowered with life-saving surgical knowledge in Gaziantep, Turkey, in 2022.
EARTHQUAKE MISSION
In 2023, an earthquake shook northwest Syria and Türkiye. We upskilled 23 Syrian doctors to manage complex injuries that require long-term rehabilitation.
CERVICAL SCREENING
In September 2023, Faculty Lead for Syria, Dr Saladin Sawan, upskilled 41 surgical residents to improve screening and treatments for women with cervical cancer.
“We learned how to be multi-tasking surgeons. I can now do surgery on the kidney, heart, vessels. This is the notion of the multi-tasking doctor. A lot of lives have been saved.”
Dr Mahmoud Hariri, Syria
Syria stories
41 Syrian doctors upskilled to screen and treat women with cervical cancer
Dr Saladin Sawan, Consultant Surgeon in Gynaecological Oncology and…
16 October 2023
“Seeing Syria again, despite its sadness, there’s still a sense of pride”
Dr Ammar Darwish has been part of the Foundation’s family for over a…
13 June 2023
Training Syrian doctors treating earthquake victims
We are joining forces with Action for Humanity (AfH) to train Syrian…
27 March 2023
Earthquake causes widespread devastation in Turkey and Syria
We are appalled by the devastating earthquake which struck northwest…
7 February 2023
From underground hospitals in Syria to training in Gaziantep
For the first time, we delivered two surgical training courses over a…
16 May 2022
April 2021 Newsletter: 10 Years of Conflict in Syria
26 April 2021
War Doctor Heroes: Meet Dr Marah
Dr Marah, a medical student from Homs, Syria knows that no matter how…
13 August 2020
War Doctor Heroes: Meet Dr Ayman
Meet Dr Mohammed Ayman, a Syrian vascular surgeon and our latest War…
27 March 2020
Syria HEST July 2019
The team has recently returned from their latest mission to Syria.…
1 August 2019