In light of people fleeing Syria’s civil war, the neighboring country of Jordan has taken in more refugees than the entire European Union. Its biggest refugee camp, Zaatari, is now home to 78,994 people at last count, and 461,701 refugees have travelled through the camp. This presents the unique challenge of trying to find resources for a population that has fled their home country with very little. One of the biggest challenges for the refugee city of Zaatari is healthcare.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been responsible for the Zaatari refugee camp since it was formed in 2012. It was once a tent camp but is now a city filled with nearly 80,000 residents. As such, UNHCR has been tasked with fulfilling this city’s basic needs, such as electricity, water, education and healthcare. The Jordanian government has provided many services to the people of Zaatari to protect their well-being during their stay. This includes healthcare.
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Most of the healthcare visits in the Zaatari camp are because of contagious diseases and could be classified as rather routine primary care visits. Another great medical need has been female reproductive services. In Jordan, Syrian refugees receive family planning services through the Jordanian healthcare system. Only married couples receive the service. Birth control options are available at the camp, but it is estimated that only one in three women know about this. On a positive note, over 82 percent of women delivered their babies in a hospital. According to the UNHCR, there are an estimated 80 births a week in Zaatari. In 2015, one clinic celebrated its 3,000 birth. These women would have likely lost their babies and maybe their lives had they stayed in their home country.
While the UNHCR is responsible for Zaatari, it is managed by the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization and receives support from multiple local and international non-governmental agencies (NGOs). The clinic that celebrated its 3,000th birth was ran by the Jordan Health Aid Society. Multiple clinics are funded by Kuwait, The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department and the U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees Migration. It is a global effort that relies on international collaboration to provide for Syrian refugees.
The latest report from the UNHCR is calling on national partners to take on more responsibility for health service provisions and providing education that will enable self-care among refugees. They are seeking support to build a health information system and establish standard operating procedures for things such as gender-based violence. As the UNHCR is responsible for ensuring that Syrian refugees get all their basic needs met, they need more agencies to share the weight of the responsibility, as Syrians continue to flee their country, and the civil war continues to endanger the lives of its people.
The civil war in Syria continues with no end in sight, and Zaatari could evolve into a permanent city as generations are born and die in the camp. As a result, the UNHCR is taking steps to make healthcare a priority and add structure to a system that was initially a temporary solution to keep innocent Syrians from the perils of war. It was once a relatively basic setup consisting of emergency services necessary for survival but is now an increasingly complex medical system that will sound be equipped with an electronic health information system. Instead of receiving emergency services, Syrians in Zaatari are receiving a full range of medical services from preventive service to acute and chronic treatments.
The realist view of the distribution of power suggests that things should be manipulated such that no country becomes so strong that it can then dictate the affairs of other countries. Importantly, providing health care services to individuals in Zaatari helps to ensure that the Syrian government does not get too powerful. By providing for the general health of the refugees from Syria, one provides an important check on Syrian power, as those people can bolster political opposition to the regime there if it happens to get too powerful.
Liberals differ in their view in that they believe in the power of institutions to help regulate international affairs while also solving problems. Liberals might seek more power for independent institutions, noting that the expanded role of UNHCR is a good thing. They would suggest that the pervasive effect of democracy and Western institutions is likely to benefit Syrian refugees and provide a check on the power of rogue Syrian leaders to the extent those individuals exist.
- CDC. (2017). Healthcare access and health concerns among Syrian refugees living in camps or urban settings overseas. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/profiles/syrian/healthcare-diet/index.html
- Syrian refugees at Al Zaatari Refugee Camp, Jordan. (2016). Telsur. Retrieved from http://wp.telesurtv.net/english/multimedia/Syrian-Refugees-at-Al-Zaatari-Refugee-Camp-Jordan-20160131-0008.html
- UNHCR. (2018). Zaatari Refugee Camp: February factsheet. UNHCR: The UN refugee agency. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/2018.02.04FACTSHEET-ZaatariRefugeeCampFEB2018.pdf
- 3,000th baby born at UNFPA-supported clinic in Zaatari refugee camp. (2015). United Nations Population Fund. Retrieved from https://www.unfpa.org/news/3000th-baby-born-unfpa-supported-clinic-zaatari-refugee-camp
