After more than three years of providing care to families in Darat Izza, northwest Syria, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) concluded our work in the town’s healthcare centre in March 2026. We began supporting the Darat Izza healthcare centre, in the western countryside of Aleppo, in December 2022. Since then, we have worked to strengthen the centre’s capacity to provide care.

This transition reflects MSF’s efforts to focus on areas with the most urgent medical needs, in line with our humanitarian and medical priorities. We continue to work and monitor healthcare gaps across northwest Syria and remain ready to respond where we are needed.

Expanding access to essential care

Over the course of our support, MSF contributed to strengthening the availability and quality of general healthcare services at the centre. The medical care we provided included general consultations, paediatric and maternal health services, reproductive healthcare, emergency care, laboratory testing, and essential medicines. Through outreach activities and mobile clinics, our staff, in collaboration with Aleppo Directorate of Health teams, were also able to reach people in surrounding villages and displaced communities.

Between 2022 and 2026, MSF delivered around 170,215 outpatient consultations, 18,950 maternal and child health consultations, and 7,660 individual and group mental health sessions.

“MSF has been providing support to this centre for the past three years, during which we have assisted over 180,000 patients,” says Ammar Misto, the director of Darat Izza healthcare centre. “The organisation has informed us that it will be concluding its services at the centre, and we are working with the Aleppo Directorate of Health to continue support and ensure continuity of care for the people in the area.” 

Delivering care in a challenging context

MSF’s support took place in a context shaped by years of war and instability, during which Darat Izza and surrounding areas had been repeatedly affected by insecurity, including artillery shelling and airstrikes. Despite these challenges, the centre remained open and able to receive patients, ensuring people had access to care.

MSF teams worked closely with local health staff to maintain services in a volatile environment, while strengthening infection prevention and control measures, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, water, sanitation, and hygiene activities, such as water trucking and waste management, were carried out in displacement camps and informal settlements to help reduce public health risks.

Alongside providing care, MSF teams also supported local health teams through training and supervision, and provided medical supplies, equipment, and staff incentives, contributing to the continuity, quality and longer-term sustainability of care at the centre.

Ongoing needs in northwest Syria

People in northwest Syria have faced significant healthcare challenges, with many communities struggling to access essential services. Years of conflict, displacement, and economic hardship have compounded both physical and mental health needs.

Mental health support formed a key component of MSF’s work at the Darat Izza healthcare centre, addressing the psychological impact of prolonged instability.

“One of the challenges we observed in this area is stigma, as is the case in many other regions,” says Ayham Al-Khattab, MSF medical doctor for mental health services. “We worked to raise awareness and educate people through both individual and group sessions.”

“As MSF hands over services to the Ministry of Health, the team has also provided a three-month supply of medication to the centre to help ensure continued access to treatment in the coming period,” says Al-Khattab.

Looking ahead

While MSF has concluded direct support to the health centre in Darat Izza, our teams continue to respond to urgent medical needs across Syria. We remain present in the region, adapting our activities to reach people who have limited access to care.

“We recognise and deeply value the dedication of health workers at the Ministry and the Directorate of Health, who have been central to this collaboration,” says Ulrich Crepin Namfeibona, MSF country manager in Syria. “Their sustained efforts over the past three years have been instrumental in ensuring that thousands of people were able to access the care they need. To support continuity of services, we have also provided medical donations to cover three months.”