Hospitals in Rojava lacking key medical supplies: local officials

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region  - Hospitals in northeast Syria are lacking key medical supplies despite taking measures to stave off the novel coronavirus, local officials have told Rudaw. 

In an interview with Rudaw, Raparin Hassan, the co-chair of the northeast Syria’s self-administration health board discussed all measures they have taken so far to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“We have taken some measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. We have prepared some hospitals for coronavirus patients. We have set up some mobile health teams with emergency phone numbers. If the patient is not intensively affected, our health teams will work on a home remedy.  But if the situation is very serious, we will transfer them to specialized hospitals prepared for coronavirus," she said on Thursday. 

Although no cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the area, known to Kurds as Rojava,  the health sector in northeast Syria faces many problems.

The launch of Turkey’s Operating Peace Spring offensive in October 2019, which aimed to rid the area of the Kurdish-led Syrian democratic forces, displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and has taken its toll on the coronavirus response.

According to Hassan, hospitals are “not 100% ready for the situation” and have received no medical supplies from either local or international organizations. 

Officials in the northeast are now looking to buy supplies from Damascus or the Kurdistan Region. 

Fears of the virus have been exacerbated by a lack of water, with Turkish control of the nearby Allouk water station depriving 460,000 people in Hasakah of fresh water. 

The most basic of preventative measures, including hand-washing, are now difficult for many people. 

"The interruption of water supply during the current efforts to curb the spread of the Coronavirus disease puts children and families at unacceptable risk," UNICEF said in a statement last week

Cramped conditions in displacement camps also increase the risk of catching the virus.

20 hospitals are spread throughout Rojava, with 600 beds. There are only 18 ventilators to serve the local population. 

The self-administration announced a 15-day lockdown on March 23 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.