Idlib Brings 30 Rehabilitated Health Centres Into Service

Mohammad Walid Tamer, deputy director of health for medical affairs in Idlib, announced that 30 health centres have been rehabilitated and put into service since the fall of the former government, with 5 more due to be activated this month. His statements came in a report on medical services in the governorate's southern and eastern countryside, where residents are gradually returning to their villages.

Services in the Countryside

Medical services in southern and eastern rural Idlib are currently provided mainly through health centres offering limited care, while hospitals with specialised interventions are concentrated in other towns. The report quoted residents who travel between 35 and 45 kilometres, and up to 65 kilometres depending on the case, to reach an equipped hospital in Idlib or Hama.

Tamer said current medical services are not sufficient relative to the number of returnees in the southern and eastern districts.

Centres and Hospitals Being Activated

• Outpatient clinics have started operating at Maarat al-Numan National Hospital.
• Tamer said work is under way to activate an emergency surgical department soon, including normal and surgical delivery, emergency general surgery, a patient ward and a four-bed intensive care room, until restoration of all departments is complete.
• He said Jisr al-Shughur Hospital has reached advanced stages of preparing its outpatient clinics.
• Of the 26 centres scheduled for activation in 2026, 5 have been restored and are being activated, while the rest are in restoration or rebuilding, with some coordinated with the ministry and organisations.
• Eleven health centres have stopped working since the start of the year: 6 closed permanently under the restructuring of the medical sector and 5 temporarily. The care department's plan is to reopen them once a new building is secured.

Health Facility Merger Plan

The health directorate has launched a plan to merge health facilities gradually, including medical complexes and former hospitals. One example is Dana National Hospital, which comprises four blocks that were each a separate hospital. According to Tamer, the Aleppo and Idlib countryside had around 64 hospitals, and a medical map has been drawn up that provides a national hospital in each district administration plus one or two surrounding hospitals according to population and geography, bringing the map to 25 hospitals, with the construction of new hospitals under study under ministry plans.

Needs and Mobile Clinics

Tamer stated that most recently restored health centres need full equipping with medical equipment and office supplies, as well as sufficient technical staff, especially doctors. He added that hospital equipment is supplied by organisations and varies in operating age from new to old.

Mobile clinics operate across the governorate under several bodies, including Insan Organization (one clinic covering Karsaa and Maarzita), the Syrian Red Crescent (4 clinics in Maarat al-Numan, Khan Shaykhun and Jabal al-Zawiya), Amal Association, the Family Planning Association and Intersos.