CAIRO, 30 March 2015- UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, will be represented at the third Syria donors’ conference that the Government of Kuwait will host to raise funds for humanitarian operations in and around war-torn Syria. While there, the UNFPA delegation will highlight the particular needs of the four million women and girls of reproductive age who are affected by the crisis, including 3 million inside Syria and one million in countries where they have sought refuge. “The effects of the conflict are devastating for the people of Syria, “said Mohamed Abdel Ahad, UNFPA’s regional director for the Arab states. “Women can die because of lack of access to emergency medical care during birth complications. Sixty per cent of preventable maternal deaths take place in contexts of conflicts and emergencies. These are all deaths that we, as humanitarian agencies, should be able to prevent,” he added.
UNFPA’s emergency response to the crisis in Syria stretches over six countries, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt. To address the health needs of the millions of women and girls of reproductive age, UNFPA supports mobile clinics, primary health centres and hospitals to enable them to deliver a full-range of reproductive health services, including safe deliveries. In addition, Syrian women and girls in these countries are able to access a wide range of recreational, psychosocial and livelihoods activities, in addition to referrals for health and other specialized services.
In Syria itself, where 57 per cent of public hospitals are reported to be only partially functioning or completely out of service, half a million women are pregnant. To services these women, UNFPA has introduced a voucher system that enables them to access maternal health services free-of-charge, including safe delivery services at 21 designated public and private hospitals in six governorates (Damascus Homs, Aleppo, Hama, Sweida and Tartus).
In order to sustain and even increase its outreach to people in and around Syria, UNFPA’s operations for 2015 will require of $76 million. One of UNFPA’s priorities for the year is to expand the range and variety of cross-border humanitarian operations into Syria, in accordance to the United Nations Security Council resolution 2139. Working with other UN agencies, UNFPA has participated in cross-border convoys from Turkey and Jordan, supplying medical equipment and contributing to local expertise in order to respond to the needs of women in the field of maternal health, including giving them access to clinics and centres where they can safely deliver their babies.
“In a world of shrinking resources, we should not allow life-saving services related to maternal and reproductive health to lag behind what may appear as more urgent needs, such as food and shelter. Women and girls have become front row witnesses and survivors of violence, including gender-based violence and forced marriages. Help them surmount these nightmares is a priority for UNFPA,” said Abdel-Ahad.
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