Entering its eleventh year, the Syrian conflict is still one of the most devastating humanitarian crises in the world. The conflict has severely impacted the health of Syrians both inside Syria and those who fled the country seeking refuge in neighbouring countries and Europe. These detrimental impacts on health were caused by both direct effects, such as death, injuries, and destruction of health infrastructure; and indirect effects such as collapse of the health system and interruption of treatments. While the humanitarian health response has defiantly tried to alleviate some of the suffering, it is important to draw lessons on health needs, response, and consequences of this conflict. Research plays a key role in illustrating these lessons which could help in improving the health response in Syria and elsewhere.

The Research for Health System Strengthening in northern Syria (R4HSSS) consortium and collaborators from the Centre for Conflict and Health Research at King’s College London, Mehad (ex-UOSSM France), the Syria Public Health Network (SPHN), Syria Research Group (SyRG) and Health in Humanitarian Crisis Centre at LSHTM invite you to attend the fourth ‘Research for Health in the Syrian Conflict’ Conference. The conference will be held virtually and in person on the 28th of November 2022.

This conference brings together exceptional speakers from academia, front-line health actors and NGOs to showcase original research on current issues in Syria, spanning from health system governance to epidemiology to many other disciplines within global health. The following themes will be explored:

 Health systems strengthening and early recovery

 Conflict implications on health systems

 Health interventions and morbidities during conflict

 System dynamic approach in health research in conflict settings

The conference will be an excellent opportunity to network with fellow researchers in the field, aiming to bridge the gap between local and international researchers and humanitarian health practitioners.

We sincerely thank you for attending this conference and hope it serves as a platform for future work on health in Syria and conflict.

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Full Programme:

9:30 – 9:50

Registration and welcoming

9:50 – 10:00

Welcoming note

10:00-10:20

Keynote speaker

10:20-11:20

First session: Health systems strengthening and early recovery

•Re-establishment of medical network in north of Syria using multi-objectives approach . Shaymaa Safadi

•Community perceptions of healthcare service delivery in Northern Syria: exploring the current and potential roles of the private sector. Amina Olabi

•Moving along the continuum between emergency and early recovery in health systems strengthening in NES . Gonzalo Codina

11:20-11:30

Break

11:30-12:30

Second session: Conflict implications on health systems

•Revealing the Significant Shortcomings in the Learning Environment at the Three Largest Medical Schools in Syria: What’s Next? Ghaith Alfakhry

•The targeting of health care facilities and insurgent activity: the Syrian case (2017-2020) . Regine Schwab

•Public health consequences after ten years of the Syrian crisis: a literature review . Bahaa Aldin Alhaffar

12:30-13:15

Lunch break

13:15-14:15

Third session: Health Interventions and Morbidities during conflict

•Service utilisation trends during conflict: a focus on non-communicable diseases in northwest Syria . Maryam Ahmad

•Demographics and risk factors for suicide in the Syrian context: Retrospective online news content analysis. Mohammad Abo Hilal

•An overview of family planning services, access, beliefs, and barriers. Results of cross-sectional baseline surveys in Northwest Syria. Abdulsalam Daif

14:15-14:45

Fourth session: Skills workshop: System Dynamic approach in health research in conflict settings

•Vaccination delivery system responses to compound shocks: pathways influencing system resilience in Lebanon . Sharif Ismail

14:45-14:55

Break

15:00 -15:45

Plenary session: Health System Strengthening and Early Recovery.

15:45-16:00

Closing remarks and Mentoring scheme