Entering its tenth year, the Syrian conflict is still one of the most devastating humanitarian crises in the world. The conflict has caused a severe disruption in health services leading to a collapse of the health system in the most conflict-affected areas. Attacks on healthcare have been a major threat in Syria, in what has been described as a weaponisation of health care. The UN estimates that half of the health facilities in Syria are either only partially functional or destroyed. Physicians for Human Rights have documented 588 attacks on health facilities and 914 medical personnel killed between March 2011 and November 2019. Essential health services have been further disrupted by the increasing number of health professionals fleeing the country. This has left populations with limited access to healthcare leading to increased vulnerability to communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Our project studies the experience of health systems in north west Syria and develop plans for the health system in northern Syria for the early recovery phase. This will be done in relation to four elements of health system adaptation and strengthening; provision of health services, health education and medical training, health governance and financing, and the use of digital solutions in health information system to inform future post conflict systems strengthening.