Abdalaziz Alhamza “RBSS”
The health situation in Raqqa is not very different from its security situation under ISIS control. The terrorist group has put a lot of restrictions on the health sector especially health organizations.
All health organizations had to stop their activities when ISIS gained control over Raqqa which led to a spread of some diseases and epidemics.
The last organization that have worked in ISIS territory is Combating Leishmaniasis Organization which worked on distributing leishmaniasis medications and carried out several awareness campaigns in order to prevent the spread of the insect that causes the disease.
One of the staff indicated to RBSS reporter: (When leishmaniasis started spreading in aria, ISIS gave us a permission to work in Raqqa and its suburbs but after several months, Abu Luqman ISIS governor over Raqqa, issued a decision to suspend our work without any reasons).
According to a lot of people from Raqqa, especially who fled the city lately, what ISIS keeps saying about the health situation and supporting health centers are just lies to attract civilians to move to the group’s territory.
According to a health worker from Raqqa, the vast majority of medical equipments in Raqqa’s hospitals are damaged due to aerial bombing and lack of maintenance.
Above all that, ISIS created a lot of restrictions over health workers especially physicians who prevented them from leaving Raqqa threatened those who left the group’s territory of confiscating their houses and properties.
According to a physician lives in Turkey currently: “I am a gynecologist, and due to my specialty I suffered a lot from the group’s violations which compelled me to get out of the city towards Turkey. After I came here, ISIS confiscated both of my house and clinic.”
ISIS also prevented sick people who needed medical treatments from leaving the city to get their therapy except in critical situations such as cancer patients.
In regard of medications, Raqqa suffers from lack of medications. After the city was liberated in 2013, all medications were coming through Turkey but now the terrorist group monopolizes drug market and sell them in high prices.
It is noteworthy that many health facilities in Raqqa were targeted by the regime warplanes, most notably the National Hospital which got out of service recently
Restrictions over physicians and health workers urged them to leave the city either towards the regime territory or towards Turkey or Europe. As a result, ISIS used people with little health experience and trained some of its fighters and created a medical school which lacks of the necessary expertise and medical equipments.
