Syria

Basic infectious disease surveillance restoration, particularly for cholera and vaccine-preventable disease, takes priority over more sophisticated One Health integration given the scale of infrastructure damage.

Severely damaged health infrastructure, mass internal displacement, disrupted chronic disease care, and vaccine-preventable disease resurgence linked to years of interrupted immunization represent the dominant challenges.

More than a decade of conflict has destroyed or severely damaged a large share of Syria's health facilities, with rebuilding efforts now underway amid continued political transition and instability.

Damaged water and sanitation infrastructure across much of the country has driven repeated cholera outbreaks, with rebuilding efforts constrained by both financing and continued access challenges.

Formal veterinary infrastructure has been severely degraded alongside the broader health system, with minimal active zoonotic surveillance currently functioning outside humanitarian-supported areas.

Drought and water scarcity, compounding years of conflict-driven agricultural disruption, are significant ongoing threats to both food security and health system recovery.

National surveillance capacity is being rebuilt largely through international technical support, with significant gaps in domestic capacity following years of institutional disruption.

Basic health infrastructure reconstruction and restoring routine immunization coverage after years of disruption are the most urgent current national health priorities.

Syria remains heavily dependent on humanitarian and reconstruction financing, with significant uncertainty about the pace and structure of international assistance during the ongoing political transition.

The World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Global Fund, Gavi, and a large network of international humanitarian organizations maintain active reconstruction and emergency health programs.

Coordinating health system reconstruction across a country still navigating political transition and regional instability remains the most fundamental and unresolved implementation challenge.

Syria's health system reconstruction will be shaped as much by political stabilization as by health financing, and organizations planning to work there need contingency-based implementation models built for that uncertainty.