Syrians lose life-saving care as Turkiye halts medical visits

HALZOUN, Syria: Huddled inside a tent in rebel-held northwestern Syria, Umm Khaled says she fears her baby will die unless she gets specialist treatment in neighbouring Turkiye for a congenital heart defect. Seriously ill Syrians in the country´s last rebel bastion of Idlib used to be able to access life-saving care across the border.But the main crossing there for medical visits slammed shut after a deadly earthquake ravaged southern Turkiye on February 6, prompting Ankara to prioritise its domestic needs. Born just a week before the disaster, baby Islam needs urgent cardiac surgery, unavailable in Syria´s war-scarred Idlib region where the healthcare system fell into further disarray after the quake.

“I watch my daughter suffer and I can´t do anything about it,” said Umm Khaled, showing only her eyes and hands beneath her black niqab. The 27-year-old said her baby was losing weight and her condition worsening. Islam often struggles to breathe, and a doctor has warned that repeated such episodes, which put further strain on her heart, could be deadly without an operation or treatment.But only cancer patients have been allowed to cross into Turkiye after months of waiting -- and only since Monday. “When she cries, she turns blue and her heart beats very fast,” Umm Khaled said, as her three other young children sat on the ground in their tent in the village of Halzoun. “I hope they´ll open the crossing soon,” she said, baby Islam squirming in her lap. Doctors in Idlib refer most heart and cancer patients to Turkiye, where they can receive free treatment under an agreement between local authorities and Ankara. Burns victims, premature babies and people requiring complicated surgery have also been allowed to cross.