00:00Minister, you've been in this role since March of this year, so about five months.
00:05You have a medical background, you've done your medical studies and worked as a doctor in both Syria and Germany.
00:12I'd like to start by asking you how you would describe the general situation when it comes to the health system in Syria today.
00:19Yes, since the end of March, I assumed this role, which is just a heavy going and a tough job.
00:33And that's due to the inheritance that we got from the defunct regime.
00:39There were many healthcare facilities, along with other hospitals and the clinics that are devastated in shambles.
00:48More than 40% of the healthcare facilities are out of service and also the medical education is also in decline.
00:59The pharmaceutical productions are on the downside.
01:01Many of the medical equipments are not functioning well, and the most recent ones have entered Syria more than 13 years ago.
01:11With this in mind, and against this backdrop, until now, we are still relying on the paper-based approach when it comes to noting down the results of blood tests and the patient's details.
01:28So this will make just, you know, the challenges more pressing, and when we compare our healthcare systems with the neighboring countries or other European countries, and then there is a far cry.
01:44Yet with that said, those challenges will give us the impetus and the motivation to start a new public health sector that is just based on the international standards so that we can provide just medical services to our people.
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