UK to increase Syria medical aid

Following the recent chemical attack on Idlib, Syria, the Department for International Development has announced that it will increase support to medical teams in the region. International Development Secretary Priti Patel announced the funding to ensure that health workers on the ground in Syria can deliver healthcare and essential medicines across the country; enabling them to prepare for future medical emergencies. It is intended for the funding to provide medicines, medical supplies and equipment for 340 primary health clinics and 69 hospitals, as well as ongoing training for more than 400 Syrian health workers responding to the ongoing conflict. Over 70 people were reported dead in northern Syria at the start of April after being exposed to sarin gas, a toxic chemicals that survivors said was dropped from warplanes. Patel said: “This was a brutal and indiscriminate attack. Unleashing the horror of chemical weapons on women, children and the defenceless is not only utterly deplorable, but it is the mark of a craven coward. “Those responsible must be held to account. And the victims must get the help they so desperately need – that is why we are providing further medical support not only for those subjected to the horrors of chemical attack, but for those countless victims of the equally deadly bombs, bullets and diseases that are devastating lives across Syria.”