Damascus, Syria.- The conflict in Syria and attacks on hospitals have had a “disproportionate impact” on the reproductive health of women and girls in the war-torn northwest of the country, under rebel control, according to a report published Tuesday.
“Twelve years of impunity for attacks on health care have exacerbated a crisis in sexual and reproductive health in Syria,” said Houssam al-Nahhas, co-author of the study, released by four organizations.
The report was made possible with the help of various groups, including the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Physicians for Human Rights.
“The fundamental right to health – including being able to give birth safely, bringing a new life into the world – has been routinely violated in northwest Syria, where many bombs have fallen on hospitals,” he added.
The devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people in Turkey and Syria last month accelerated “the collapse of the fragile health system” in the area, according to the text.
An increase in displacement and damage to precarious health infrastructure “will probably have an impact on some 148,000 pregnant women, 37,000 of whom will give birth in the next three months,” the report details, based on data from the UN.
For the head of Syria at IRC, Tanya Evans, the study shows “the disproportionate impact that the conflict continues to have on women and girls in northwestern Syria.”
