QRCS cancer drugs, equipment for northern Syria

The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) recently provided vital cancer drugs worth $1mn to meet the needs of patients with cancer among internally displaced people (IDP) and local communities in northern Syria for five months.The project, according to an official QRCS statement, also involved the provision of early diagnosis and treatment equipment and capacity-building for 25 medical professionals at the centres for cancer in the target areas.Implemented in Idlib by QRCS’s representation office in Gaziantep, Turkey, the project is estimated to serve 3,700 direct beneficiaries and 18,500 indirect beneficiaries.It’s aimed at addressing the health conditions and reducing mortality rates among patients with cancer in northern Syria, by allowing them better access to health care services.According to the project’s action plan, the medical supplies were stored at QRCS’s warehouses in northern Syria, to be later delivered to the Idlib Health Directorate, which would distribute them to the centres of cancer across the northern parts of the country.These included 46 types of expensive chemotherapy and immunotherapy drugs (12,000 intravenous doses and 32,000 oral doses), pharmaceutical mixers, digital microscopes, water heaters, pharmaceutical refrigerators, and dry heat sterilisers.Mental health and psychosocial trainers were hired to train the medical professionals working at the centres for oncology in how to offer psychological first aid (PFA) and mental health interventions to patients with cancer and their families.Socioeconomically, this project will make a real difference in the lives of many patients with cancer, by filling in the gap in supply chains for the centres of cancer, thus ensuring the continuity of life-saving specialised and free-of-charge medical services.