Health

Two companies under the umbrella of the Syrian Sovereign Fund (SSF) have recently signed two contracts with foreign companies to rehabilitate several public hospitals and establish a vehicle manufacturing project in Aleppo. Sarh Holding, a state-owned construction group of companies owned by the SSF, signed a contract with Canadian company InterHealth Canada, to develop, rehabilitate, upgrade and equip 14 state-owned hospitals. The Syrian Company for Automotive Industry (SCAI), a company owned by the SSF, has signed a contract with Chinese bus manufacturer Yutong to establish a modern vehicle manufacturing plant.

The Syrian government is in talks with the Saudi Fund for Development to finalise the transfer of a USD 1.5 billion grant for the ‘Syria Without Camps’ initiative, the Deputy Minister of Disaster and Emergency Management, Ahmad Qzayz, said. 

The Syrian Investment Authority has issued Decision No. 55 (See Issue No. 23 of the Official Gazette) extending the implementation period for a pharmaceutical production project associated with Bashar Al-Assad's brother-in-law.

Syria’s transitional government inherited a skeletal welfare system in which citizens nominally had access to healthcare, social housing, subsidised goods, and retirement pensions, but reality on the ground was far bleaker. The new government, quick to adopt the free-market agenda and declare the end of the subsidy era, is still in the process of designing its social protection framework. This report offers an overview of what is left of the welfare state and examines the discussions between the government and international organisations to design social protection policies (which include a national cash transfer programme and a unified social registry project). It also looks into the financial viability of pensions, the strategy to counter the low levels of social protection coverage, the under-funding of social housing programmes, and explores the debate around health financing reform.

The Syrian Ministry of Health has published Decision No. 4 of 2026 (see Official Gazette issue No. 10), setting out its regulatory framework for the registration and import of foreign medical and pharmaceutical products.

In the first two months of the year, European, Japanese and Arab donors have funded several projects to rehabilitate health facilities and boost healthcare services, but funding to the health sector remains sluggish.

In the areas that fell under the control of Damascus in recent days - the eastern flank of the governorates of Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor, and the southern countryside of Hassakeh - state officials have accelerated the handover in the civilian, judicial, industrial, energy, health and financial sectors.

The Syrian government has issued decisions No. 25 and 26 regarding Miamed Pharmaceutical Industries modifying the name of the company and the scope of its licence.

The Ministry of Health published last December a decision outlining the conditions under which mobile applications and websites related to the health sector can operate in Syria.

The pharmaceutical industry in Syria, once seen as a cornerstone of the national economy and one of the most resilient industrial sectors, lost significant capacity during the 14-year old conflict, and in the aftermath of the fall of the regime now faces considerable challenges, among them a significant hike in fees.

In recent weeks, the Syrian health sector has witnessed a series of developments involving local initiatives, foreign aid, and government programmes, including the signing of a cooperation agreement to rehabilitate health facilities, the delivery of medical aid from German and Italian agencies, and the launch of a national programme aimed at restructuring medical education and regulating the practice of healthcare.

In a press conference held in Damascus on March 26, the Ministry of Health launched an appeal requesting international support to supply cancer drugs. The cancer medications stockpile in government hands is bound to last only two months, Dr Mufaddal Hamadeh, President of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), an NGO active in cancer care in Syria, told The Syria Report.

Syrian doctors and health specialists tell The Syria Report of the catastrophic situation of their sector. A doctor says that all public hospitals in Damascus are without a CT scan, none in Homs has an MRI machine, while in Aleppo there is a shortage of dialysis machines. Emergency rooms across Syria are empty, while patients must buy the syringe, the syrup, and all other materials.

Between January and August, 78 health facilities in northwest Syria, including 27 hospitals, have “fully or partially suspended operations” due to lack of funding, the Team Lead of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergencies, Marie Noelle Rodrigue, told The Syria Report, adding that this figure represents “more than 20 percent” of the functional health facilities in the northwest. Among the health facilities impacted by this budget shortfall are hospitals, primary health care centres (PHCs), and blood banks.

The Syrian authorities are seeking to encourage investment in cancer treatment, including through Iran, as the number of cases has been accelerating in the past decade and shortages abound.

Damascus is considering further privatising the public healthcare system, a move that might lighten the budget burden of the Ministry of Health but will severely impact the lives of Syrians that depend on free medical services in public hospitals and primary healthcare centres. The Ministry of Health has begun the procedures to transform all public hospitals into entities with administrative and financial independence and has also taken steps to “explore” a public-private partnership model for the management of medical facilities.

As the cholera endemic continues unabated, the Ministry of Health recently received two million cholera vaccine doses – the first to reach the country since the outbreak was declared in September.

Jordan has recently issued new measures to regulate Syrian food products as cholera continues to spread in Syria.  

The head of WHO's Syria office was accused by her staff of abusive behaviour, misdirecting millions of dollars of the UN agency's taxpayer-provided funds, and acting irresponsibly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After a decade of zero cases in Syria, cholera cases have risen at an alarming rate across the country.