Health and the SDGs 2021: Syrian Arab Republic

Health and the SDGs Syrian Arab Republic Selected determinants of health Population living in urban areas (%) ( 2020) ... Annual GDP growth (%) ( 2020) -3.9 Population growth rate (%) (2020) 2.4 Children aged < 5 years with pneumonia symptoms taken to a health care provider (%) ( year) ... Universal health coverage UHC service coverage index (2021) 64.0 Primary health care facilities per 10 000 population ( 2021) 1.0 Hospital beds per 10 000 population (2021) 14.3 Demand for family planning satisfied with modern methods (%) ( 2021) 61.6 Antenatal care visits (4+ visits) ( 2018) ... Measles immunization coverage among 1-year olds (%) (2021) 59.0 Tuberculosis treatment coverage rate (2021) 86.0 DTP3-containing vaccine/pentavalent coverage among 1-year olds (%) (2021) 48.0 Out-of-pocket expenditure as percentage of current health expenditure ( year) ... Domestic general government health expenditure as % of general government expenditure ( year) ... Neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality rates per 1000 live births Distribution of causes of death among children aged < 5 years (%) Pneumonia (ALRI), 10.2% Prematurity, 18.4% Birth asphyxia/trauma, 8.1% Sepsis & other infec�ons, 3.8% Congenital anomalies, 16.9% Diarrhoea, 20.4% Malaria, 0.0% Measles, 2.3% HIV/AIDS, 0.1% Meningi�s/encephali�s, 0.6% Injuries, 8.0% Others, 11.2% Top 10 causes of death for both sexes and all ages (2019) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers Congenital anomalies Diarrhoeal diseases Kidney diseases Road injury Lower respiratory infections Neonatal conditions Collective violence and legal intervention Stroke Ischaemic heart disease Deaths per 100 000 population Communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions Noncommunicable diseases Injuries 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 Ra te p er 1 00 0 liv e bi rt hs Neonatal mortality Infant mortality Under-5 mortalitySource: UN-IGME 2021 W H O -E M /H ST /2 66 /E Net primary school enrolment ratio per 100 school-age children (year) Total ratio … Male ratio … Female ratio … Literacy rate (15–24 years) (2020) (%) Total 94.0 Male 97.0 Female 91.0 Population below the international poverty line (2019) (%) 65.0 Proportion of employed population below the international poverty line 15+ (%) (ILO modelled estimate, 2019) Male 29.5 Female 19.5 Children under 5 (%) who are (2019) stunted 12.6 wasted 1.7 overweight 4.6 Population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technologies at the household level (%) 97.0 (WHO Global Health Observatory, 2020) Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services (%) (World Health Statistics, year) … Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services (%) (World Health Statistics, year) … Unemployment rate (15+ years) (%) (ILO estimate, year) Total … Male … Female … Concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (μg/m3) (WHO Global Health Observatory, 2019) Total 25.1 Urban 25.3 Estimates of rate of homicides (per 100 000 population) (WHO Global Health Observatory, 2019) 2.6 Selected health-related SDG indicators Indicator Male Female Total Life expectancy at birth in years (2019) 71.2 74.3 72.7 Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth (years) (2019) 62.5 63.3 62.9 Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at 60 (years) (2019) 13.8 14.1 14.0 Maternal mortality ratio (deaths per 100 000 live births) (UN-MMEIG 2020 estimate) — — 30.0 Neonatal mortality rate (deaths per 1000 live births) (UN-IGME 2021 estimate) … … 10.8 Infant mortality rate (deaths per 1000 live births) (UN-IGME 2021 estimate) 20.2 16.4 18.4 Under-5 mortality rate (deaths per 1000 live births) (UN-IGME 2021 estimate) 24.2 20.0 22.2 Tobacco use among persons 15+ years (%) (2019) … … … Overweight (18+ years) (%) (2016) … … 61.4 Obesity (18+ years) (%) (2016) … … 27.8 Raised blood pressure among persons 18+ years (%) ( year) … … … Raised blood glucose among persons 18+ years (%) ( year) … … … Raised cholesterol among persons 18+ years (%) (year) … … … Mortality between exact ages 30 and 70 from cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease (%) ( 2019) 26.0 18.3 22.1 Cancer incidence per 100 000 (2021) 145.5 155.3 149.3 Key health indicators Universal health coverage (UHC) means provision of quality services to everybody without discrimination of any kind and without exposing people to financial hardship. UHC is one of the targets of SDG 3, and attaining UHC will also contribute directly or indirectly to achieving the other SDGs. Achieving UHC means ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages with explicit affirmative action for vulnerable populations including refugees and migrants. Thus, disaggregated data will be necessary to assess and address inequities in health. UHC requires intersectoral action. All countries can and must advance towards UHC by 2030, if not earlier. Source: Progress on the health-related Sustainable Development Goals and targets in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2020. Cairo: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean; 2022. Availability of data for each SDG 3 indicator: no data, one and at least two data points, 2014–2019 3. 1. 1 M at er na l m or ta lity ra tio 3. 1. 2 Sk ille d bir th a tte nd an ce 3. 2. 1 Un de r-5 m or ta lity ra te p er 1 00 0 liv e bir th s 3. 2. 2 Ne on at al m or ta lity ra te p er 1 00 0 liv e bir th s 3. 3. 1 Nu m be r o f n ew H IV in fe cti on s 3. 3. 2 TB in cid en ce 3. 3. 3 M ala ria in cid en ce (p er 1 00 0 po pu lat ion a t r isk ) 3. 3. 4 He pa titi s B vi ru s p re va len ce a m on g ch ild re n un de r 5 ye ar s 3. 3. 5 Nu m be r o f p eo ple re qu irin g int er ve nt ion s a ga ins t le ish m an ias is 3.4 .1 Pr ob ab ility of dy ing be tw ee n a ge 30 an d e xa ct ag e 7 0 f rom C VD , c an ce r, d iab ete s, CR D 3. 4. 2 Su ici de m or ta lity ra te (d ea th s p er 1 00 0 00 p op ula tio n) 3. 5. 2 Al co ho l c on su m pt ion p er ca pit a (a ge d 15 ye ar s a nd o lde r) 3. 6. 1 D ea th ra te fr om ro ad tr af fic in ju rie s pe r 1 00 0 00 3. 7. 1 D em an d fo r f am ily p la nn in g sa tis fie d w ith m od er n m et ho ds 3. 7. 2 A do le sc en t f er til ity (1 5− 19 y ea rs ) r at e (p er 1 00 0 gi rls ) 3. 8. 1 UH C se rv ice co ve ra ge in de x 3. 8. 2 La rg e ex pe nd itu re s o n he alt h as a sh ar e of to ta l h ou se ho ld ex pe nd itu re (> 10 % ) 3. 9. 1 M or ta lit y ra te a ttr ib ut ed to h ou se ho ld a nd a m bi en t a ir po llu tio n 3. 9. 2 M or ta lit y ra te a ttr ib ut ed to u ns af e w at er , u ns af e sa ni ta tio n an d la ck o f h yg ie ne 3. 9. 3 M or ta lit y ra te a ttr ib ut ed to u ni nt en tio na l p oi so ni ng s 3. a. 1 To ba cc o us e (a ge d 15 ye ar s a nd o lde r) (% ) 3. b. 1 Va cc ine co ve ra ge (D TP 3) 3. b. 1 Va cc ine co ve ra ge (M CV 2) 3. b. 1 Va cc ine co ve ra ge (P CV 3) 3. b. 2 To ta l n et O DA to m ed ica l r es ea rc h 3. b. 3 Av ail ab ilit y o f s ele cte d es se nt ial m ed ici ne s ( pu bli c h ea lth fa cil itie s) (% ) 3. c.1 P hy sic ian s p er 1 0 00 0 po pu lat ion 3. c.1 N ur sin g an d m idw ife ry p er 1 0 00 0 po pu lat ion 3. c.1 P ha rm ac ist s p er 1 0 00 0 po pu lat ion 3. c.1 D en tis ts pe r 1 0 00 0 po pu lat ion 3. d. 1 IH R an nu al re po rti ng 3. d. 2 Pe rc en ta ge o f b loo ds tre am in fe cti on s d ue to E SB L- E. co li 3. d. 2 Pe rc en ta ge o f b loo ds tre am in fe cti on s d ue to M RS A Yemen United Arab Emirates Tunisia Syrian Arab Republic Sudan Somalia Saudi Arabia Qatar Pakistan Oman Occupied Palestinian territory Morocco Libya Lebanon Kuwait Jordan Iraq Iran, Islamic Republic of Egypt Djibouti Bahrain Afghanistan No d at a On e da ta p oin t At le as t t wo d at a po int s No t a pp lic ab le Developed jointly by: Department of Science, Information and Dissemination Chef de Cabinet office © World Health Organization 2023 Some rights reserved. This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Health and the SDGs at a glance in Syrian Arab Republic Voluntary National Review Completed in 2020: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ content/documents/26292VNR_2020_Syria_Report_Arabic.pdf The second VNR is being prepared for issue in 2024. National Focal Point for 2030 Agenda Mr Rifaat Hijazee, National Coordinator for SDGs, Planning and International Committee Commission National Focal Point in the Ministry of Health for health-related SDGs Dr Ahmad Dmiereih, Deputy Minister of Health for Technical Affairs, Ministry of Health 1. Summarize efforts at the national level in setting targets for health-related SDGs. The first national report on the SDGs in 2019 expressed the Government’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda and tracking SDG implementation. It assessed progress and the impact of the conflict. United Nations (UN)-supported consultation workshops were held to validate the report’s findings with civil society, women, youth and other stakeholders in northern, central and southern Syria. The results of the report (including priorities and indicators) fed into the drafting of post-war recovery development plan (2019–2030) and the SDG-based targets adapted to national development priorities. SDG reporting has strengthened baseline data and the updating of national development priorities. 2. How is Syria incorporating SDG 3 targets in health policy, strategy and planning? The national health strategy for 2022–2027 fully incorporates SDG 3 targets and is aligned with the post-war recovery development plan (2019–2030). The plan incorporates SDG 3 targets, indicators and timeframe, and was prepared by the same governmental working-groups that developed the first national report on the SDGs, under the coordination of the Planning and International Cooperation Commission. In addition, different health strategies related to specific diseases or programmes incorporate SDG targets, including those for tuberculosis, HIV, women, children and adolescents. 3. Are there any major partnerships for advancing the health-related SDGs? A partnership with UN agencies exists to implement the UN Strategic Framework 2022–2024 to build resilience and improve the lives of the people of Syria, particularly the most vulnerable, in alignment with national development priorities, Agenda 2030 and the SDGs. The Framework defines roles and structures UN collective action in support of advancing the SDGs in partnership with key stakeholders. Partnerships have been established between ministries, UN agencies, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector for SDG reporting to monitor progress. An official online national portal for the SDGs has been developed in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme. 4. Describe a success story or an opportunity for strengthening the health system for COVID-19 that supports efforts towards achieving one or more of the SDG health-related targets. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health and its partners has managed to maintain routine immunization coverage through implementing strategies to reach unreached children in high-risk and newly-accessible areas. Outreach and mobile vaccination activities are undertaken to overcome the difficulties faced by communities in accessing fixed vaccination sites due to the economic crisis and a lack of fuel. In areas where health facilities are still non-functional, health authorities hold multi-vaccine campaigns at least once a quarter, to ensure every child has at least four chances to be vaccinated per year. This includes nomadic populations. Detection capacity has been enhanced by strengthening the national surveillance system for vaccine-preventable diseases and the central public health laboratories. Additionally, oral polio vaccine has been given to 84.4% of children aged 0–59 months. In this way, Syria has maintained its wild poliovirus-free status and controlled but not yet eliminated measles.