Over 20 volunteers dedicated their Sunday, August 21 to sorting donated medical supplies at UOSSM Canada's Oakville warehouse. There were a lot of helping hands, both young and old, categorizing hundreds of different medical supplies. UOSSM Canada would like to thank the kind volunteers for dedicating their time and effort to our cause. We are now ready to ship almost 700 boxes to Syria Monday, August 29.
 

UOSSM Canada would also like to thank those who kindly provide us with medical supplies: our generous donors as well as the volunteers at Not Just Tourists who collect, sort, and deliver medical supplies to our warehouse. Our work would not be possible without you.

In the UOSSM campaign #SOSMedecinsAlep, medical personnel provide first-hand insight into the situation inside Syria's Aleppo, where the bombardment of civilians and hospitals does not cease. They use short videos to tell the international community about the horrible conditions of healthcare in Aleppo, a city which was under siege by the government for over two weeks. Among the video testimonials are those of Dr. Anas Al Kassem, Chairman of UOSSM Canada, Dr. Ziad Alissa, Chairman of UOSSM France, and Dr. Raphael Pitti, Professor of Emergency Medicine in War Zones, all of whom have had experience working inside Aleppo. Click here to watch these videos. 

Hospitals in Syria continue to be the target of airstrikes, which is strictly prohibited by international law. In July alone, 43 medical facilities, many at least partially supported by UOSSM, were bombed and put out of service. Not only does this directly kill people, including women and children, but it also diminishes the healthcare available to Syria's civilians by damaging much-needed resources and putting the lives of medical personnel at risk. The hashtag #NotATarget is used on social media to condemn the targeting of medical facilities and raise awareness about this ongoing issue.

Click here and here to read UOSSM Canada's recent press releases on hospital bombings. 

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UOSSM INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

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UOSSM Opens First Cardiac Care Centre in Northern Syria 
UOSSM opened the first Cardiac Care Center in UOSSM’s Bab Al-Hawa Hospital, providing cardiac care services including echocardiogram and emergency cardiac care with the latest equipment. This is the only cardiac center in the region of northern Syria.

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UOSSM Supplies 12 Women's and Children's Hospitals in Northern Syria with Medical Equipment 
​​In partnership with Muslim Aid, UOSSM fulfilled the “Support Women’s and Children’s Hospitals” project on June 27 by providing equipment, including incubators and radiant warming beds, to these hospitals. Hospitals in the following areas were supported with this project:  Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Lattakia.

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UOSSM Responds to 3 Major Hospitals' Urgent Needs in July 
UOSSM responded to the call for the urgent need for emergency support of field hospitals. Bab Al-Hawa Hospital received medications and consumables, Al Quds Hospital received one month's salary support for hospital staff in the amount of $52,243, and Thawrat al Karama Hospital was also supported. These hospitals are considered some of the major hospitals in Syria. Thawrat al Karama performs 135 surgical operations, Al Quds provides 214, and Bab Al-Hawa provides 1300 surgical operations a month.

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The  UOSSM Medical Training and Educational  Center in Bab Al-Hawa offered and hosted several training courses in July:
 

UOSSM hosted the World Health Organization in July for the second training course in the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). The course was given to 30 doctors that work in hospitals and primary health care centers in Northern Syria.

Due to the major shortage of medical staff and in order to save the maximum number of lives possible, UOSSM Medical Training and Education Center provided the ATSG course to 22 trainees. 

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UOSSM's nine PHC's continue to provide medical health care services throughout Syria. 
 

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Al Zafaraneh Primary Health Care Center An air raid targeted the Al-Zafaraneh Primary Health Care Center on July 14. The damage caused the center to temporarily go out of service. The center provides care to over 6000 patients a month from the besieged area of the Homs suburbs. This is not the first time the center has been targeted, bombed and put out of service. With support from UOSSM, Tulip Organization held an Eid party for the children in the Eastern Ghota area bringing smiles to their faces. Watch the video here.