September 2018 Activities and Updates from UOSSM USA
We hope this newsletter finds you in the best of health. We would like to welcome all of our new subscribers and supporters to the UOSSM family. You will receive plenty of new information and updates about our work and activities for this and every month. UOSSM’s 2000+ dedicated staff members in the US and abroad are working hard to make a difference in the lives of Syrians inside Syria and in neighboring countries, and to provide the medical support that is so desperately needed. Thank you for supporting UOSSM USA, together we are “Saving Lives, and Building Hope.”
Check out our website for the latest news, press releases, newsletters, and events! www.uossm.us
UOSSM was awarded the Grand Challenges Canada grant for the “Health Integrated Resilience System” on September 25. UOSSM was among three finalists invited to attend and present their innovative projects in conflict zones, at the 2018 edition of the Concordia Annual Summit in New York City. The administrator (USAID) US Agency for International Development Mr. Mark Green, and the Secretary of State for (DFID) UK Department for International Development announced UOSSM as one of the 23 finalists for the Humanitarian Grand Challenge.
The finalists were selected from a pool of 615 applicants across 86 countries. The grant will help UOSSM support its innovative project, Health Integrated Resilience System (HIRS), to strengthen the resilience of health systems by integrating solar power, electronic ambulance systems and tele-medicine services, to deliver life-saving aid in the world’s most challenging war zones. Dr. Monzer Yazji President of UOSSM USA and President & CEO of South Texas Clinical Partner ACO, was invited to present UOSSM’s innovative project (HIRS) at the Concordia Annual Summit.
UOSSM USA launched a petition calling for the protection of healthcare workers, and 3 million civilians, in case of a military campaign in Idlib. In mid-September, medical workers from the Idlib Health Directorate staged a work strike demanding the protection of the international community, to keep them and their places of work safe in the event of a military bombardment of the area. Around 800 medical workers have been killed and many more have been wounded since the beginning of the crisis. Medical workers have been subject to targeted attacks, detainment, and attacks on their places of work since the beginning of the crisis. This has caused a large number of Syrian medical workers to flee Syria in search of protection for them and their families.
Please click here to sign our petition and join UOSSM in support of doctors and medical workers in Idlib. Show your solidarity and let them know they are not alone.
UOSSM held a grand opening ceremony on September 20 for a new mental health care center in Ankara, Turkey. The event was attended by French Ambassador in Ankara, Charles Fries, the EU Ambassador, Christian Bege, representatives of the Turkish Ministry of Health, and representatives of the project partners Relief International, European Union, and UOSSM.
The center will provide the following services to Syrian refugees:
• Group and individual psychotherapy sessions
• Mental and Psychosocial guidance services, such as family services, learning disabilities etc., for all age groups
• Child Rehabilitation services for children with special needs such as mental disorders, autism, and mental retardation
• Training and qualification courses in mental health and psychosocial support
UOSSM would like to share this info-graphic to show the impact of violence on medical staff and the general public in Syria. This info-graphic is courtesy of a UK Aid & Syrian Independent Monitoring (SIM) study. Regular Syrians were polled for this study, providing a rare insight into how everyday people are impacted by the violence. Among those surveyed for the study were vulnerable individuals including those living with chronic disease, pregnant women and mothers of newborns, and the elderly. Some interesting findings include: 43% of people said they would only go to a hospital if their lives depended on it, and 57% of health workers said their facilities were specifically targeted by bombardment.
This study shows the effect on everyday people and their difficulty living a normal life, and shows the hardships medical workers have been facing for the past seven years.
UOSSM Mobile Clinics reached over 9000 patients in internally displaced camps and hard-to-reach areas. The mobile clinics provide medical health care, nutrition services, psychosocial support services, and mental health care services in northern Syria. The goal of the mobile clinics is to provide medical services to patients that are not within reach of healthcare or who are unable to get to medical facilities.
UOSSM medical facilities provided care to over 90,000 internally displaced persons in northern Syria in the past six months. The following facilities provided care: Jisr Al Shaghoor, Al Barra, Areeha, Quorqonia, Dayr Hassan. The centers provide nutrition services and psychosocial support services as well. There were also 60,000 beneficiaries from supported hospitals, part of the emergency response project by OCHA, which provided medical equipment, medicines, and consumables.
Did you know?
Since 2012, UOSSM has been providing emergency medical relief and healthcare services to the Syrian people affected by the crisis, working primarily inside Syria and with Syrian refugees in Turkey.
UOSSM:
In 2017, UOSSM supported 18 primary health care centers and 13 mobile clinics
UOSSM Bab Al Hawa Hospital provided health care services to 250,000 patients in 2017
In 2017, 175,000 beneficiaries were provided with nutrition services focused on women and children
UOSSM Mental Health and Psychosocial Support provided care to 22,955 beneficiaries in 2017
UOSSM Protection services were provided to 75,564 in 2017
UOSSM USA is a US federally tax-exempt non-profit 501(c)(3) Charitable Humanitarian organization. Tax-Exempt. Tax ID 47-3403988. All donations to UOSSM USA are fully deductible from taxes to the greatest extent permitted by law.
