Paris, 06 May 2025
On the eve of Syrian President Ahmed-al-Charaa’s visit to Paris, the NGO Mehad, one of the main health NGOs present in Syria since the start of the war in 2011, is warning of the worsening humanitarian crisis since the fall of the regime and the massive cuts in international aid funding, and is calling for a strong response from the French government.
The visit of the Syrian President to Paris, who has chosen France for his first trip to the European Union, is an opportunity to reiterate the urgent need for funding for humanitarian aid in Syria, and more specifically for the health sector.
The fall of Bashar-al-Assad’s regime on 8 December 2024 has revealed unprecedented humanitarian needs in Syria, in a context that is still highly volatile and violent. According to the latest WHO figures, dated 4 May, 16.7 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian aid in Syria, including 14.9 million in need of healthcare.
At present, “more than half of the country’s hospitals are no longer functioning because of the conflict”, says the WHO, while only 37% of the country’s primary health centres are functioning normally.
The already deplorable state of the health system has been made even worse by the freezing of USAID funding. At present, 280 hospitals and other health facilities, or 16% of the country’s infrastructure, have closed or drastically reduced their activity following the end of US funding (source: WHO, figures published on 1 May 2025).
“Our mother and child centres in north-west Syria are threatened with closure in the very near future,” laments Mego Terzian, Director General of the health NGO Mehad, “These centres, which are essential for women and young children in the region, receive more than 27,000 patients every year. Where will all these mothers and babies go?
Similarly, following the recent closure of numerous facilities, the three Mehad dialysis centres still operating in north-eastern Syria are now the only ones operational for the entire region, without being able to meet the needs of the entire population in need of these services. These centres are themselves threatened with closure without a new source of funding between now and July. “Four other of our dialysis centres have already closed in recent months due to a lack of renewed funding,” points out Mego Terzian, who reminds us that “without dialysis, the life expectancy of a patient suffering from acute renal failure is ten days”.
Against this backdrop of a humanitarian aid funding crisis, the NGO Mehad is calling for a strong and urgent response from the French government. The Élysée Palace has announced that this visit is a “demonstration of France’s historic commitment to the Syrian people”, and also states that the French President “will reiterate France’s support for the construction of a new Syria, a Syria that is free, stable, sovereign and respectful of all the components of Syrian society”.
“Emmanuel Macron’s strong commitment must now be put into practice, not only by maintaining the budget promised for humanitarian aid in Syria, but also by disbursing it quickly”, Mego Terzian stresses, “or we will be heading for a humanitarian and health disaster in the country”.
