The BMJ Appeal 2023-24: The Syrian health workers pulling 24 hour shifts to keep their maternity hospital open

Ghufran, a 22 year old midwife, works a 9 am to 4 pm shift in an antenatal clinic at the Ain Al Bayda Hospital in northwest Syria. She’s responsible for monthly check-ups on patients who live in one of the 58 neighbouring camps for internally displaced people, who have been unable to leave through a decade of barbaric civil war. “The biggest danger to pregnant women here is anaemia caused by malnutrition,” she says.

When her shift has finished Ghufran moves to the obstetric wing, where she works for the remaining hours of the day. She’s on duty as one of six midwives working in a rota along with a surgical team and nursing staff. These gruelling working hours are the only way to provide essential care given the scarcity of available medical staff, says Waseem Bakir, health coordinator of Violet, a Syrian non-governmental …