National Hospital in Swedia struggles with funding shortages, broken medical equipment

While the Syrian health sector has faced accumulating challenges for years, the situation in Swedia Governorate appears even more complex. The National Hospital in Swedia city is facing increasing pressure due to shortages of medicines and medical supplies, broken diagnostic equipment, and outdated equipment that has exceeded its operational lifespan. This is compounded by the growing needs of patients and the daily reliance of tens of thousands of residents on its services.

Despite the continued efforts of medical and engineering staff to provide services within the available resources, the current situation reflects the magnitude of the difficulties facing the public health sector, especially as the cost of treatment in private hospitals has become unaffordable for a large segment of the population.

Swedia Governorate includes 4 government hospitals: “The National Hospital in Swedia City, the Salkhad National Hospital, the Shahba National Hospital, and the Sali Hospital”, in addition to a limited number of private hospitals, most notably the Mazraa Hospital and the Enaya Hospital, but the National Hospital remains the main referral center and the one that receives the most emergency, surgical and specialist cases at the governorate level.

Official data indicates that the hospital is intended to serve approximately 150,000 residents of the city and surrounding rural areas, reflecting the immense pressure on the largest healthcare facility in the governorate.

A persistent shortage of medicines and supplies.

Dr. Firas Masoud, Director of the Sweida Health Directorate, confirmed that medicines and medical supplies reach the directorate in limited quantities, whether from allocations from the Ministry of Health or from supporting organizations. He pointed out that the actual need requires a regular and sustained supply, as the occasional shipments do not meet the actual demand.

He explained that the directorate is working, as quickly as possible, to secure the necessary materials and supplies for most health services, including surgical supplies and emergency services, through various means, whether through initiatives or humanitarian aid from expatriates or humanitarian organizations, with the aim of ensuring the continuity of medical care and preventing the interruption of essential services.

For his part, Khaled al-Abd, Director of the Pharmacy Warehouse, explained that medicines received from the Ministry of Health arrive irregularly and in limited quantities, in addition to what is provided through the procurement committee and humanitarian organizations. He noted that their support is often focused on medicines for health centers, rather than the central medicines needed by the hospital to cover various medical conditions.

Important equipment out of order

This problem is not only about the lack of medicines but also about the malfunction of some important medical equipment which causes patients' discomfort and leads many to visit private hospitals or move from their own governorates to undergo diagnosis and treatment.

While visiting the department of medical logistics, Engineer Ghufran al-Hajjar, head of the engineering department of the Sweida Health Directorate, said that the MRI machine is out of order from July 13, 2025, and the repair of the machine will cost approximately $255,000. She appealed to humanitarian organizations to support the process of repairing the device.

According to her, the Canon 22-slice CT scanner is also out of order while the 32-slice CT scanner is still out of order despite having an agreement between the Chamber of Commerce and the specialized company. The reason why the maintenance was delayed is the security situation and difficulties in reaching the governorate. She hopes that the repair process will resume when the situation improves.

Ghufran al-Hajjar observed that the lithotripsy machine was not functioning anymore owing to the requirement of an electricity generator. She further observed that most of the medical machines had surpassed their functional time period and she even mentioned operating hours of C-Arm X-Ray machine that is utilized in orthopedic and neurosurgeon operations. C-Arm X-Ray machine is at present being shifted to National Hospital from Salkhad Hospital wherever required.

Moreover, she pointed out that dialysis machine has crossed 40,000 hours of operation and is now exhausted. Ghufran further mentioned that there was a dire need for the availability of incubators for premature babies. Engineering staff is still providing regular maintenance of the rest of the functioning machines.

Support from expatriates and organizations

In contrast to this reality, local and humanitarian initiatives have emerged, contributing to alleviating some of the burdens. These initiatives, as observed by our correspondent, are mostly from expatriates from the region and from UN health organizations.

Engineer Ghufran al-Hajjar, head of the engineering department at the Sweida Health Directorate, indicated that the International Medical Corps contributed by providing portable X-ray machines and CR (computer-assisted imaging) equipment, in addition to equipping complete laboratories at the Fourth Center, the Salkhad Hospital, the Dhibin Center, the Blood Bank, and the National Hospital. Expatriates in Lebanon also donated a complete endoscopy unit and a digital CR reader.

She added that the directorate is awaiting its allocation from the Ministry of Health's investment budget, which would help resume implementing its development plans and gradually return to normal operations. However, this budget is still unavailable.

"The Garden of Hope": When Community Compensates for What Resources Cannot. Despite the difficult situation facing the healthcare sector, a community initiative brought a different message within the hospital's walls. Through the personal efforts of a group calling themselves "The Zealous Youth of the Mountain in the United Arab Emirates," a space previously used as a garbage dump and sewage treatment area was transformed into a green space called "The Garden of Hope." It features flowers, a water fountain, seating, and a small café serving drinks to patients, visitors, and medical staff.

Engineer Rahaf al-Munim from the National Hospital's Engineering Department explained that the initiative is one of the most beautiful initiatives the hospital has witnessed, as it transformed the neglected area into a space that provides patients and staff with a measure of psychological comfort.

Those behind the initiative also documented the project's implementation phases through a wall displaying photos of the site before and after its rehabilitation, serving as a testament to the extent of the transformation this space has undergone. For his part, nursing student Salem Abu Hadeer confirmed that the garden has become a real haven inside the hospital, and that patients and students enjoy its view daily from the windows of the departments, expressing his gratitude to the UAE expatriates and to everyone who contributed to the implementation of this humanitarian initiative.

Ongoing challenges facing the Health Sector

Residents also confirm that the National Hospital suffers from a shortage of specialist doctors, particularly in the surgery, pulmonology, vascular surgery, and pediatrics departments. This impacts the volume of services provided and increases the pressure on existing medical staff, forcing some patients to resort to private hospitals or travel outside the governorate for certain tests or surgeries.

What does the Ministry of Health say?

Since the events in Swedia in July 2025, the Ministry of Health in the Interim Government announced that it has been working to support the health sector in Swedia by coordinating with the health directorates in neighboring governorates to receive the injured, provide ambulances, transfer critical cases, and continue supplying hospitals with medicines and medical supplies according to available resources.

The Ministry indicates that the continued provision of health services in Swedia is a priority, despite the logistical and financial challenges facing the health sector throughout Syria. However, citizens question these statements, pointing to the challenges the hospital is facing. Administratively, the Swedia Governorate has been experiencing an exceptional situation since July of last year compared to the rest of the Syrian governorates. Local authorities and community committees are managing a number of service and security matters within the governorate, while government institutions, including the Health Directorate and the National Hospital, continue to perform their duties and provide public services within their available resources.

Observers describe this situation as having created additional challenges for the management of the health sector, particularly regarding securing supplies, carrying out maintenance work, and ensuring the access of technical staff and companies to the governorate.

Between the reality of insufficient funding and equipment malfunctions on one hand, and the efforts of medical staff and community initiatives seeking to meet some of the needs on the other, the National Hospital in Swedia continues to provide as many services as possible to the governorate's residents. However, its staff believe that restoring its full capacity to perform its role requires more sustainable governmental and institutional support that guarantees citizens' right to treatment and prevents distance or cost from becoming barriers to healthcare.

ANHA