WHO sent only 645 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to North-East Syria

The co-chair of the Health Committee in North and East Syria explained on Wednesday that the World Health Organization (WHO) has sent only 645 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the regions of northern and eastern Syria, calling the action an "insult."

Syria has received the first batch of 256,800 doses of COVID-19 vaccines recently. According to WHO, the vaccine delivery will be distributed to frontline health workers across Syria, including the northeast and northwest. The COVID-19 vaccines were delivered through two shipments: 203,000 doses arrived in Damascus for all governorates. It was further stated that 53,800 doses were delivered through Gaziantep for the cross-border shipment to the northwest.

The co-chair of the Health Committee in North and East Syria, Ciwan Mustafa, spoke to ANHA and said that only 645 doses have been delivered to the Autonomous Administration regions. Calling the action “contrary to the values ​​and principles of the WHO”, Mustafa pointed out that the WHO which has provided vaccines for numerous territories around the world did not act according to principle of equality as an institution playing a humanitarian role.

Mustafa pointed out that the organization is unfair and does not pay any attention to more than 5 million people in these regions. He added, "This is an insult to the people of the region."

He noted that the WHO, since the spread of Coronavirus in the regions of northern and eastern Syria, has not shown any interest in the region despite the continuous appeals, adding: “The organization has not shown any interest in our regions, and this indicates the extent of the contradiction in the principles and policies of the organization.”

Mustafa stressed the need for the World Health Organization to be fair in its actions.

According to latest data, a total of 16,319 coronavirus cases have been registered in the North-East Syrian regions. While 636 of those infected have died, 1,673 have recovered.

The lockdown introduced by the Autonomous Administration to contain the spread of coronavirus has been extended for 10 days in all of North and East Syria earlier today.