The recent AJPH editorial by McNeely and Morland1 perfectly summarized elements of strategies that can improve care access for Syrian refugees.
Currently, I am living less than 100 kilometers from the Syrian border, so I can see, feel, and hear the unpleasant events affecting the Syrian health system and the corresponding unfortunate personal circumstances of its patients. Similar observations were also made by Heisler et al.2
This chaos is also affecting countries neighboring Syria such as Jordan. Jordan is continuing to care for refugees from Syria and other countries, but its health system is dangerously overstretched.3
On September 28, 2015, at the Plenary Session of the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations held in New York City, His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan declared that Syrian refugees constitute 20% of Jordan’s population.
I totally agree with the viewpoint from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that outlines strategies for changing refugee assistance in an era of widespread conflict and population displacement.4
It should also be strongly emphasized that the reports from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Organizations should include attention—and strikingly so—to preparedness and provision for the health of refugees and migrants in Europe5 and in other areas affected by this humanitarian issue.
REFERENCES
- 1.McNeely CA, Morland L. The health of the newest Americans: how US public health systems can support Syrian refugees. Am J Public Health. 2016;106(1):13–15. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Heisler M, Baker E, McKay D. Attacks on health care in Syria-normalizing violations of medical neutrality? N Engl J Med. 2015 doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1513512. Epub ahead of print. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Murshidi MM, Hijjawi MQ, Jeriesat S, Eltom A. Syrian refugees and Jordan’s health sector. Lancet. 2013;382(9888):206–207. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61506-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Spiegel PB. The state of the world’s refugees: the importance of work, cash assistance, and health insurance. JAMA. 2015;314(5):445–446. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.8767. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Europe in 2015—health in a diverse and changing region. Lancet. 2015;386(10000):1211. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00311-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]