10-14 | Since September 2022, parts of Syria including northeast Syria (NES) and northwest Syria (NWS) have been facing a major cholera outbreak. First linked to the contaminated water near the Euphrates River and the severe water shortage in the north of Syria, the outbreak has now spread across the country, and more than 13,000 suspected cases have been reported, including 60 deaths.According to Raqqa National Hospital, this is the first-time cholera has been confirmed in NES since 2007.
7-4 | Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) calls on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to renew the cross-border resolution (UNSCR 2585) expiring on the 10th of July 2022 for the provision of humanitarian aid into northwest Syria.Around 60% of people residing in this area, more than half of whom are internally displaced, risk losing access to desperately needed humanitarian and medical aid if the resolution is not renewed.
5-4 | The COVID-19 vaccine Humanitarian Buffer (HB) is failing its mission to support people hit by the pandemic and struggling to access immunisation, says Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The HB is part of the COVAX mechanism*, whose aim is to assist groups of people who do not have access to COVID-19 vaccination in situations of humanitarian emergency. However, MSF’s recent experience in northern Syria has highlighted the system’s limitations and ultimate failure to fulfil its purpose.
3-3 | As hundreds of thousands of people are forced to escape, MSF is working on setting up emergency response activities in Ukraine and deploying teams in Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Teams are also ready to respond in Russia and Belarus. As the conflict continues in Ukraine, MSF is dispatching teams to Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia to assess the needs of people crossing borders and respond to humanitarian needs. Teams are also present in Belarus and Russia ready to provide humanitarian assistance.
12-14 | On Saturday 11 December 2021, 15 casualties were rushed to a hospital co-managed by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) following an airstrike in Idlib governorate, northwest Syria.