After years away, many families are returning to Al-Tibni, a town in northeast Syria’s Deir-ez-Zor countryside. This area, rich in agriculture, has seen thousands come back to rebuild their lives. However, what awaits them is a community struggling with limited essential services, especially healthcare.
Al-Tibni faces a significant healthcare gap. Years of conflict have left medical facilities damaged and underprepared. In some cases, families must travel up to 45 km to reach hospitals that can provide specialized care. This distance creates a heavy burden on families, not just financially but also in time and stress.
Relief International, with support from the European Union, has stepped in with a mobile clinic to help meet the urgent healthcare needs in the area. They have noted a severe decline in health conditions among residents. Issues like rising communicable diseases, poorly managed chronic illnesses, and increasing child malnutrition are prevalent. Factors contributing to these problems include:
- High rates of poverty
- Food insecurity
- Lack of specialized medical services
The mobile clinic is crucial for many families, offering vital primary healthcare services. It provides consultations, early diagnoses, and health education. Recently, it has delivered over 4,600 free consultations. According to Kawthar Al-Abdallah, a nutrition technician with Relief International, they routinely screen children aged 6 months to 5 years for malnutrition, as well as pregnant and nursing mothers. Many parents, unaware of their children’s conditions, find out through these screenings.
Once a malnutrition case is identified, families face the challenge of finding treatment, often a long journey to distant centers. To ease this burden, plans are underway to provide nutritional therapy directly at the mobile clinic.
For returnees like Aref, a 56-year-old father, the lack of healthcare options is frustrating. After returning to Al-Tibni post-displacement, he found his home damaged and struggled to find stable work. He suffers from high blood pressure and asthma, relying on consistent medical care. With over 70,000 residents in the area, Aref highlights the stark lack of services: “We have almost no medical services—no lab, no X-ray, no ambulance.”
If someone in his family needs emergency treatment, they often have no choice but to travel 45 km to Deir-ez-Zor city, a trip they can’t always afford. “Sometimes, by the time an ambulance arrives, it’s already too late,” he shared.
Aref first learned about the mobile clinic through word of mouth. The consultations he received made a significant difference in his daily life. Yet he knows the resources available are limited compared to the overwhelming need: “We hope for more medicines, staff, and longer hours.”
Despite these struggles, residents cling to hope. Aref emphasizes, “Health cannot wait. Education is important, but when someone is sick, there should be no delay. Without healthcare, people cannot rebuild their lives.”
The mobile clinic in Al-Tibni is not just meeting immediate health needs, but it is also restoring faith in the healthcare system. Support for these efforts could mean that returning home feels less like facing a health risk and more like reclaiming dignity and access to care.
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