Initiated by Cardinal Mario Zenari, implemented by the AVSI Foundation and financially supported by The Caritas Pro Vitae Gradu Charitable Trust, the “Open Hospitals” Project in Syria aims to provide 50’000 medical free treatments to the poorest population living in Damascus and Aleppo.
Watch the interview of the Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio in Syria, taking place in Summer 2019. A very moving interview.
Open Hospitals Project in Syria
The most recent estimates (OCHA data) state that 13.5 million Syrians are in need of aid, and 11.5 million of them have no access to health care; 40% of these are children.
The Open Hospital Project started from the observation that the three existing Catholic hospitals in Syria were not utilized to their full potential due to a lack of financial and material resources namely:
- Italian Hospital in Damascus (founded in 1913 and managed by the Salesian Sisters Daughters of Mary. The Hospital has 55 beds and employs 26 physicians and 54 nurses);
- French Hospital in Damascus (founded in 1905 and managed by the Daughters of Saint Vincent of Paul. The hospital has 104 beds and employs 47 physicians and 139 nurses); and
- St. Louis Hospital in Aleppo (founded in 1905 and managed by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition. The hospital has 60 beds and employs 18 physicians and 44 nurses)
History
The Open Hospital Project’s objective is to support the expenses of these three hospitals in view of enabling them to provide medical care services to the most vulnerable populations in Aleppo and Damascus.
The Caritas Pro Vitae Gradu Charitable Trust takes part in the Open Hospitals Project by funding, for all three catholic hospitals in Syria, all the salaries and expenses incurred by the hospital staff and the social offices, for a two years period.
