Humanitarian assistance groups in Washington are warning that the health care system has become a deliberate target in the increasingly brutal civil war in Syria, presenting major challenges to addressing the humanitarian and refugee crises spurred by the conflict.
In a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, UK Prime Minister David Cameron stressed the centrality of the unfolding health crisis, emphasising the need in Syria to “care for trauma injuries, help torture victims to recover, [and get] Syrian families clean drinking water”.
Health aid is meeting significant obstacles, though, as the public health system in Syria reportedly has been largely dismantled after being targeted by Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which has wiped out a third of the hospitals in the country.
The full article continues at http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/05/syrian-attacks-on-health-care-system-terrorising-population/ on IPS’s website.