Health services for Syrian refugees overstretched, U.N. report warns

"The refugee crisis sparked by the conflict in Syria is increasingly straining health services in surrounding countries, while refugees are finding it harder to access the quality treatment they need, the United Nations refugee agency warns in report released [Friday]," the U.N. News Centre reports (4/26). "The report is the first assessment of the health situation of Syrian refugees in neighboring Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon," VOA News writes, adding, "The report says the Syria refugee crisis is putting an enormous strain on the health systems and refugees are having difficulty getting the care they need." VOA continues, "The report, which covers the first three months of this year, shows refugees need treatment for injuries, psychological illnesses and communicable diseases, as well as chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension" (Schlein, 4/26).

"With more than one million Syrian refugees in these three countries, and above 1.4 million around the region, there are two major problems facing the health system," a UNHCR press release states. "First, with low funding for the refugee crisis, the challenge of providing access to quality health care for Syrian refugees is growing -- particularly for people living outside of camps," the press release continues, adding, "Secondly, the increasing numbers of people needing medical help is straining existing health services in each of the affected countries" (4/26). "'The challenges of providing access to affordable and quality health care for Syrian refugees will only increase in the months to come,' the UNHCR said in its report," according to Reuters (Nebehay, 4/26).