The Qatar Red Crescent launched a new humanitarian and health project to provide emergency dialysis services in Syria, with the aim of supporting and ensuring the continuity of life-saving medical care for thousands of kidney failure patients, with funding from the Zakat Affairs Department in the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs.
The project includes supplying 80 hospitals and specialized centers in various Syrian regions with more than 70,000 dialysis packages to serve 3,000 patients, at a rate of 3 sessions per week for each patient over a period of two months, with each package consisting of dialysis solutions, medical solutions, blood transfusion tubes, dialysis filter, medical needles, and sterilization supplies.
In this context, Director of the Qatar Red Crescent Representative Office in Turkey, Mazen Abdullah, said, “This project represents a vital step to ensure the continuation of dialysis sessions for patients in Syria, as any interruption in this service may put their lives in direct danger.”
He added, “Qatar Red Crescent works in full coordination with its local and international partners to ensure the timely arrival of medical supplies to the targeted hospitals and centers.”
Abdullah praised the efforts of the Zakat Affairs Department in the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs for financing this project, which reflects the State of Qatar’s firm commitment to supporting the Syrian people and alleviating their suffering in light of the difficult humanitarian circumstances they are going through.
The Qatar Red Crescent teams undertake supply and distribution operations according to a precise mechanism that includes ensuring quality according to the standards approved by the Syrian Ministry of Health, with close coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to facilitate the delivery of dialysis packages to the targeted hospitals and centres, while the World Health Organization provides technical support by identifying the actual needs and technical specifications for medical supplies.
The Qatar Red Crescent explained that the impact of the project is not limited to providing medical supplies only, but extends to reducing death rates and health complications, supporting the stability of basic health services, reducing pressure on the limited resources available, in addition to enhancing patients’ confidence in government health facilities, and alleviating the economic burdens on their families by providing these services for free or at subsidized prices.
He pointed out that this intervention comes at a time when dialysis facilities in Syria are facing a worsening crisis, as reports issued by the Kidney Care Committee in the Syrian Ministry of Health indicate that there is an acute shortage of medical supplies and devices, with an urgent need to provide about 63,000 dialysis sessions per month to meet the minimum needs, in addition to the shortage of more than 500 dialysis machines, and the need to replace 30 water treatment plants.