Syria. Open Hospitals
Support this fundraising campaign to upgrade three nonprofit hospitals in Aleppo and Damascus, four dispensaries and ensure care for the poorest.
Over 50 thousand free treatments have been provided to the most vulnerable Syrians in five years of the project. The milestone was reached in June 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that's not enough, we are relaunching the project until 2024: four new dispensaries will complement the work of the three hospitals in Damascus and Aleppo.
In order to give a tangible response to the Syrian people's call for help, thanks to the initiative of Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, and the support of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Open Hospitals project was conceived in 2016 and became operational in 2017.
Goals and results
The project goal is evident from its title: to open the doors of three hospitals (the Italian Hospital and the French Hospital in Damascus, and the St. Louis Hospital in Aleppo) to the greatest number of poor patients who otherwise could not receive the care they need. In recent years, a variety of treatments have been provided free of charge, from the treatment of complex diseases to those of non-serious illnesses that, however, if neglected in a context deeply marked by the consequences of war, can kill just as much as bombs.
This year, I would like to highlight the great work to support the return of Christian communities to the Nineveh Plain in Iraq and the health care provided to so many poor sick people in Syria, particularly through the Open Hospitals project.
Pope Francis, 2018
Donors
The project, supported by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, is funded by: Italian Bishops' Conference (8x1000), Papal Foundation, Agostino Gemelli IRCCS University Polyclinic Foundation, Roaco through the Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, Misereor (German Episcopal Organization for Development and Cooperation), U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Caritas Spain, Vatican Gendarmerie through the St. Michael the Archangel Foundation, U.S. Catholic Health Association (CHA), Third Pillar Foundation - International, Human Progress Foundation, Cariverona Foundation, United World Foundation, Caritas Pro Vitae Gradu Charitable Trust, Hungarian Government (within the framework of “Hungary Helps”), Lombardy Region.
Added to this funding are donations from Italian individuals and businesses and contributions raised through the 5x1000 (pre-tax donation).