The Syrian Ministry of Health in the interim government of Damascus announced today, Thursday, March 27, a plan to open about 2000 health centers across all provinces.

The acting Minister of Health, Dr. Maher al-Sharaa, emphasized the need to adhere to high-quality standards when selecting models for the health centers, in terms of the nature of medical services that will be provided, including emergency services, laboratories, imaging, and specialized clinics that will be included.

During a meeting at the Ministry of Health building with the construction department of the joint services directorate at the ministry, a video presentation and photos of models of these centers, the available options, their costs, and working mechanisms, along with implementation timelines were showcased.

Regarding the state of medicines, al-Sharaa confirmed the necessity of overcoming bureaucracy and obstacles to enhance the pharmaceutical situation, monitor it, and improve the quality of medicines in Syria.

He highlighted the importance of creating a suitable investment environment, given that there are many investors eager to work in this field, whether by opening new factories or by securing additional pharmaceutical products.

Al-Sharaa indicated the ministry’s readiness to provide all necessary supplies and issue decisions that contribute to quickly overcoming all difficulties facing drug directorates, calling for the establishment of a new protocol for their operations and the need to secure specialized human resources to work in this area.

The acting Minister of Health called for tightening supervision over medication production lines, ensuring their quality and effectiveness, and training personnel in this field due to its significant and sensitive importance.

For his part, the director of pharmaceutical control at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ibrahim al-Husseini, confirmed that the directorate is working on standardizing medicine prices in Syria, renewing pharmaceutical licenses, and raising dependency conditions and regular follow-ups on factories, through supervisory tours to pharmaceutical factories and pharmacies, ensuring they operate legally, documenting violations occurring on the ground, and addressing them promptly.

Recently, the Ministry of Health began opening medical centers in Syrian provinces, the latest of which was an emergency center in Daraya, rural Damascus, on Wednesday, March 26.

The emergency center in Daraya includes a pediatric clinic, dressing, minor and internal surgery, and provides laboratory services, reproductive health, maternity care, natural childbirth, and mental health services, as well as supplying medications for patients.

The center is equipped with all emergency supplies, consisting of three floors, with an emergency capacity of 5 patients, and employs 27 staff members, including five doctors and ten nurses, who work in shifts around the clock.

The Ministry of Health previously announced at the end of last year that it had established work plans for four years, indicating that the healthcare sector in Syria has nearly been destroyed.

The acting Minister of Health, Maher al-Sharaa, stated that the ministry has work plans for three, six, nine months, one year, two years, and four years, and that they have started serious work in this regard.