Reeling from the effects of civil war and natural disaster, northern Syria is in the grip of a mental health crisis, as suicide rates soar and funding for services falls short.

A dearth of treatment centres and trained psychiatrists mean most of those affected find themselves isolated, in a country where mental illness is still stigmatised, patients and specialists tell SciDev.Net.

The long civil war that started in 2011, along with a series of devastating earthquakes that killed more than 55,000 people in Turkey and Syria in February 2023, have left deep scars among survivors.

Stifling economic crises, unemployment and poverty are compounding the impacts of these events, adding to the psychological damage, observers say.