Syria’s healthcare system is on the brink of collapse, with widespread infrastructure destruction, severe shortages of medicines and supplies, a shrinking health workforce, and the closure of several medical facilities. Millions of lives are at risk, especially in the country’s northern regions.

The rapid deterioration stems from years of armed conflict that have exhausted the health sector and deepened its fragility. The absence of effective state institutions to provide basic services and the population’s near-total reliance on humanitarian aid further compounds the crisis.

This structural fragility is compounded by a sharp decline in foreign funding for medical services, deepening the crisis and driving many medical facilities into insolvency or closure. A key turning point was the decision by the administration of US President Donald Trump to halt USAID programmes, cutting off one of Syria’s main sources of medical support.