Many Lebanese refugees come to Syria due to the Israeli attacks and try to get medical care, but the capabilities of Syrian medicine are very limited because of American sanctions, Syrian doctors told Sputnik. They noted that complex equipment and many medications are not available.
"The main problem is the treatment of chronic diseases. Due to the current economic blockade, it is very difficult to obtain raw materials for medicines and medical equipment," Redan Zahreddin, a chief physician of a medical center in a refugee camp in the suburbs of Damascus, said.
Another doctor told Sputnik that many children can’t get necessary psychological assistance.
"Children need psychological help. They are still in a post-traumatic state after everything they saw and heard. To overcome this, children need daily help from psychologists, and therefore a stationary center for psychological assistance," Rafia al Hamid, mobile medical team pediatrician, said.
Al Hamid added that despite the restrictions, thousands of Lebanese children were provided with treatment.
The US, EU, Australia, Canada and Switzerland imposed economic sanctions on Syria; most of them were put in force in 2011, when the civil war broke out in the country. The American restrictions were tightened in 2020.