33 medical shipments sent to provinces

Damaged buildings in Syrian city of Homs Damascus - Arab Today Syrian Health Minister, Dr Saad al-Nayef said that 33 shipments of medicine have recently been sent to governorates in the context of the ministry's efforts to preserve health security and meet the citizens' needs. Al-Nayef met with resident representative of the WHO in Syria, Elizabeth Hoff on Saturday, with talks centering on the health situation in Syria and the ministry's needs at the current stage amid incessant attacks against health institutions by armed terrorist groups. Al-Nayef said that the ministry is working to relocate the cadres working in the health institutions that have been hit and put out of service to the ones still in operation so as to cope with the immense pressure there amid a growing demand for free-of-charge services. He said shipments reached 11 provinces; four of which were sent to Aleppo, three to Raqqa and Daraa and five to Hama and Homs, not to mention the medical shipments distributed regularly in crisis-hit areas in cooperation with international organisations. The minister unveiled a national vaccination campaign that targets two million children under five years of age to be launched in November, accompanied by distributing food packages and personal hygiene care groups. The ministry is also preparing for a joint national workshop with international health organisations designed for assessing the joint cooperation over the past period and drawing up future plans, the minister pointed out.