Al-Shaddadi Hospital reopened despite previous 2022 launch

In a move that has raised widespread questions, Syria’s Interim Government once again announced the “official entry into service of Al-Shaddadi National Hospital in the Hasaka countryside,” stating that it has begun receiving patients and activated the emergency, pharmacy, and women’s clinic departments, providing integrated healthcare services to local residents.

However, Al-Shaddadi Hospital — previously known as “Al-Shaab Hospital” — was officially inaugurated by the Health Authority of the Autonomous Democratic Administration on October 6, 2022, after completion of its rehabilitation. It became the first public hospital in southern Al-Hasakah, serving more than 500 villages with a population of around 300,000 people, stretching from northern Deir ez-Zor countryside to southern Al-Hasakah countryside.

The hospital had suffered 90% destruction in 2014 after being used as a headquarters by ISIS militants during their occupation of southern Al-Hasakah countryside. The Autonomous Administration later rehabilitated it at a cost of $1,514,000, according to a statement at the time by Talat Younes, Co-Chair of the Executive Council of the Jazira Canton within the Autonomous Administration, during the inauguration ceremony.

The opening ceremony was attended by residents from Al-Shaddadi, Al-Arisha, and Markada and their villages, as well as representatives from the Health Authority, the Executive Council of the Jazira, civil and military institutions, and community figures. Speeches during the event stressed the importance of the project amid ongoing blockade conditions and persistent threats.

At the time of its opening, the hospital’s administrative director, Hossam Al-Ali, stated that the hospital initially began operations with four departments: emergency, laboratory, outpatient clinics, and natural childbirth, with radiology and other specialties to be launched gradually depending on the availability of staff and equipment. He noted that the hospital included eight general practitioners, six specialists, nursing staff, lab technicians, and two ambulances.

In light of these facts, observers are questioning the rationale behind announcing the opening of a hospital that had already been inaugurated and operating for years, while the Autonomous Administration maintains that it was responsible for rebuilding and rehabilitating it after the extensive destruction.

ANHA