Twelve months after the fall of Bashar Al-Asad’s government, people and communities in southern Syria now have more options to access healthcare, as teams from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) are working in this part of the country for the first time in almost 12 years.

MSF staff are witnessing significant health needs in Dara’a governorate, where years of conflict have caused extensive destruction to infrastructure and severely affected the provision of health care to the communities. Today, MSF is providing free mother-and-child medical care at Nawa National hospital to help support these pressing needs.

The conflict, and its substantial impact on the healthcare system – including shortages of essential medical supplies and an understaffed workforce – left thousands of people without access to healthcare services. Facilities were only partly functional; some activities stopped completely, including those at Nawa National hospital.

“Years of prolonged crisis have severely affected the hospital’s capacity to provide care, making it harder for people who need immediate medical attention, especially mother and child healthcare,” says Ulrich Crepin, MSF Head of Mission in Syria.