Homs, Syria -- “In Baba Amro, the area where I lived before, we had no doctors, not even a health clinic. “The conflict has seriously affected health services in Homs”, Om Kareem, said explaining the devastating health situation in their area. “I heard from my neighbor about this clinic managed by the Syrian Family Planning Association that can assist me with most health problems at no cost”.
In cooperation with the UNFPA, the Syrian Family Planning Association (SFPA) continues the response to the emergency situation in Syria through adequate medical services to support affected women to access reproductive health services, counseling and even awareness-raising.
“After months of seeking a somewhat safe place to live, I and my family have a place that we can call home”,
Om Kareem, 32, a mother of four children, says. She has come to seek medical help at the UNFPA supported health clinic located in Al Inshaat neighborhood, a relatively safe street in western part of Homs where she moved with her family recently.
The clinic includes a Gynecologist, Internist and pediatrician, besides providing psycho-social support services to respond to the emotionally debilitating consequences on mothers and children of the ongoing conflict. Three medical points, in addition to the health clinic operate in Homs, in Al Idikhar, Wadi Al Nadara and Al Waer in Homs and the adjoining rural areas of the governorate.
“We receive around 20-30 patients per day, we provide them pregnancy-related consultations and services, gynecological examinations and psycho-social counseling. The need for additional services keeps growing all the time”, Dr. Ghaida, the gynecologist at the clinic says. Out of an estimated 748, 000 people in need in Homs governorate, there are 187,000 women in the reproductive age.
“I’m so touched that I was able to access services at this clinic in these difficult times when we spent days and nights even without having food or water, Om Kareem said. “How I wish this brutal war comes to an end.”
