Wafaa Al-oush has no doubts about what her role as a midwife entails – it is a mission to ensure every mother and baby receive the care they need. Living in Al-Bab, in northern Aleppo, with her husband and young child, she has worked at Al-Ameen Medical Centre for the past 4 years, providing essential maternal health services.
“Every day women come to us full of worries, not just about their pregnancy but about how they will afford food, shelter and medical care for their babies,” says Wafaa. “Sometimes they just need someone to listen, to reassure them that they are not alone.”
In northwest Syria, where accessing maternal health care can be a major challenge, Wafaa’s role is critical. In 2025, 15.8 million people will need humanitarian health assistance across the country, many of them women and children. Syria, where years of conflict and natural disasters have made accessing health care even more difficult, is also home to 7.4 million internally displaced people.
“Many women here face challenges getting prenatal care because of the distance to health centres and the costs involved,” explains Wafaa. “Our clinic is often the only option for these women to receive safe and timely care.”
