GENEVA / SYRIA HEALTH REPORT

The UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, says that more than half of its 23 health centres in Syria are destroyed or non-functional and has described the situation as grave. CH-UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:52
• Production Date: 20 May 2014
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST - UNRWA
• Subject Topical: PEACE AND SECURITY; HEALTH; REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS; DISASTER PREVENTION; DISASTER PREPAREDNESS; DISASTER RELIEF; SANITATION; PUBLIC HEALTH
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA; PALESTINE
• MAMS Id: 1024721

Description

STORY: GENEVA / SYRIA HEALTH REPORT
TRT: 1.52
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 20 MAY 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Shotlist

1. External shot, Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health:
“The conflict entered the fourth year and under such a situation many, many people in Syria suffered and unfortunately the weakest suffered the most.”
4. Zoom out from report
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health:
“We provide primary health care with 300 staff and we have 23 health centres, half of them are either destroyed or non-functional.”
6. Wide shot from behind podium
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health:
“There are 500,000, half a million, Palestine refugees in Syria. More than half of them are already displaced within Syria. Over 50,000 sought refuge in Lebanon, and over 10,000 in Jordan. Under such context, the context we provide health services in Syria has never been so grave.”
8. Med shot, journalist typing
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health:
“There are around 18,000 Palestine refugees left in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria. We used to have 3 health centers inside Yarmouk, all of them are not functional. There is severe food shortage as well and acute shortages of life-saving medicines. We managed to deliver thousands of desperately needed food parcels into Yarmouk. Still, only one quarter of the food requirements have been met in the past four months and as you can imagine it was a serious health risk.”
10. Med shot, podium

Storyline

The UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, says that more than half of its 23 health centres in Syria are destroyed or non-functional and has described the situation as grave.

Speaking at the launch of the its annual health report in Geneva, Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health, said the health situation facing 18,000 civilians in the Palestine refugee camp of Yarmouk, in Damascus, continues to deteriorate.

We used to have 3 health centers inside Yarmouk, all of them are non functional. There is severe food shortage as well and acute shortages of life-saving medicines. Only one quarter of the food requirements have been met in the past four months and as you can imagine it was a serious health risk.

Syria’s conflict has displaced over a quarter of a million Palestine refugees internally within Syria, with many in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. UNRWA has been the main provider of primary health care for Palestine refugees for over six decades.