A 4-year-old child should be able to play outside with his friends. But not Omar, due to a large lesion on his cheek delivered by a sandfly carrying leishmaniasis.

Leishmaniasis is serious disease, spread by sandflies which bite uncovered parts of the body. It goes undetected during the first phases of infection, as patients experience no more than the effects they would from a regular mosquito bite. Once a few months have passed, the lesion begins to swell abnormally.

WHO cooperates with different health partners to reduce the suffering of the Syrian people caused by leishmaniasis, by offering treatment for infected patients, by providing preventive measures such as bed nets against the sandflies, or by conducting spraying campaigns in heavily infested areas.