Iman al-Shanqiti, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Syria, confirmed that the Syrian Ministry of Health is a key partner and active member of WHO, playing an important role in formulating policies and planning for future projects. The WHO has maintained its presence in Syria before, during, and after the crisis.
Regarding Syria’s recovery rate over the past two years, Shanqiti emphasized: “We, as an organization, have developed a recovery strategy for Syria in collaboration with our partners. Currently, the head of the organization is in discussions with various countries to secure support for this strategy. Early recovery requires explicit financial support, which has not been secured so far.”
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She added: “As a health organization working within the UN framework, we face two types of sanctions imposed on Syria—European and American—both of which are highly challenging. I recently met with the Italian ambassador to Syria to discuss recovery efforts. There is definitely some progress, as eight European countries have called for reconsideration of the sanctions, which is a positive beginning that must be built upon.”
The UN official stressed that there are European countries willing to work towards this direction. “We ask that health be excluded from the framework of sanctions. The European response is always that sanctions do not impact humanitarian programs, but when we delve into specifics, we find that our suppliers face Caesar sanctions when supplying to Syria. This affects the provision of materials to Syria, as well as remittances, shipping companies, insurance, and more. We hope for a complete reconsideration of these sanctions.”
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
