Darayya Health Center is nearing a shutdown of its night emergency service as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) ends its support at the end of January, raising fears of a major healthcare gap in the city and surrounding areas.
MSF opened a night emergency unit at Darayya Health Center on March 15, 2025, helping provide continuous emergency coverage in Darayya (in Rural Damascus, southwest of Damascus), a city that lacks comparable free emergency facilities. The support was set to end in late 2025, but MSF extended it for one additional month, officially ending on January 31, 2026.
Dr. Eyad Khshfa, director of Darayya Health Center, told Enab Baladi that 21,076 cases were received by the emergency department from its opening through the end of 2025. The center recorded 2,090 cases during the first month of 2026, reflecting heavy reliance on the night emergency service ahead of its expected closure.
Dr. Moaaz Sidawy, a specialist in general and vascular surgery and an emergency physician at the center, said the facility operated under a continuous emergency system split into morning and evening shifts. MSF staff fully covered the evening shift, while the morning shift was run through cooperation between the Ministry of Health staff and MSF personnel.
Sidawy added that MSF provided most emergency medications and fully equipped the emergency department, including a complete pharmacy and a dedicated dressing room. The organization also covered logistical costs, including electricity and fuel needed to keep the center running.
According to Hussam al-Lahham, the initiatives officer in the civil administration, MSF left a stock of medications sufficient for about three months when its support ended. He confirmed the support has officially ended, and there is currently no capacity to operate the center without government backing or support from humanitarian organizations.
However, patients and visitors told the center they request emergency medications and cannot find them available, as reported by an Enab Baladi correspondent, pointing to a gap between remaining supplies and actual demand.
Life-saving emergency services
During its operation, the center provided life-saving emergency care and handled moderate cases classified under the “yellow triage” category. It also transferred patients to al-Mujtahid Hospital and al-Mouwasat Hospital (both in Damascus) after providing initial care, using an ambulance dedicated to the center in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.
The center also provided daily nursing services at a rate of no fewer than 30 cases, including non-emergency procedures, helping ease pressure on Damascus hospitals.
Anas Abu al-Lail, an intensive care technician at the center, said the unit handled critical resuscitation emergencies, including resuscitating four children aged between five months and two years. They arrived unconscious and not breathing, were resuscitated at the center, and then transferred to hospital.
Abu al-Lail said losing the service would force patients to travel at least 10 kilometers to reach the nearest hospital.
A shutdown means losing night emergency care
In a public opinion survey conducted by an Enab Baladi correspondent, several Darayya residents voiced concern over the potential halt. Jomaa al-Ali, a frequent visitor to the center, said he often relies on the emergency unit because his children have asthma, adding that its closure would force him to head to Damascus hospitals in any emergency.
Another patient, Ammar al-Sakka, complained that service is not available around the clock. He went to the center at 6:00 a.m. due to kidney stones but found no medical provider receiving patients at that time.
Al-Lahham warned that halting the night emergency unit at Darayya Health Center would effectively mean the loss of night emergency care for the entire area, as there is no similar facility in nearby towns. The center receives cases from Darayya, al-Muadamiyah (in Rural Damascus, adjacent to Darayya), Sahnaya (in Rural Damascus, south of Damascus), al-Ashrafiyah, and al-Jdeideh, while the nearest hospital is about 10 kilometers away.
MSF withdrawal to end night emergency care in Darayya by the end of the month Enab Baladi.
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