When minutes are longer than hours
5'
In a village near Mafraq, Jordan, not far from the Syrian border, Heba and Qasem share a house with two other families. The married couple live here as refugees, with little access to basic services or safe drinking water.
When Heba was near the end of her first pregnancy, she needed emergency care and was rushed to a nearby hospital in Mafraq. Despite the seriousness of her condition, and the risk to the lives of her and the baby, the hospital refused to treat her. They asked her to leave because the delivery she needed didn’t match their terms and conditions, and the couple couldn’t pay the fees.
Since November 2014, Syrian refugees have had to pay the cost of using Jordan’s public health facilities. At the start of the refugee crisis, they received free access, but the costs have become too much to bear for the Jordanian government. This means that Syrian refugees living outside of camps, like Heba and Qasem, are increasingly unable to pay for medical treatment.
Fear filled Qasem. He was worried about losing the baby and about the risks to Heba’s life. He was also worried about hospital fees he could not repay.
Yet there was only one possible choice. He rushed Heba to a hospital in Irbid, which agreed to provide the needed care for a price.
In a moment he will never forget, Qasem felt blessed and full of joy when he heard the first cry of his newborn baby girl, Sham, which means Damascus.
CHECK OUR LATEST STORIES
Featured StoriesStoriesSyriaHealth and Nutrition
A new life for a clinic in Syria
"The clinic is ready!" The news was music to Dr Eyad's,(the director of Tal Salhab clinic), ears. Medair had just completed the rehabilitation of Tal Salhab's only primary health centre, providing it with much-needed medical equipment – offering a lifeline to over...
StoriesSudanWater, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
The Sudan crisis: how Medair is stepping in
Sudan crisis: how Medair is stepping in Twelve months into the armed conflict in Sudan, it has become the largest displacement crisis in the world. To date, 8.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes, and the number is growing every day. Families have...
StoriesUkraineHealth and NutritionMental Health
The Need for mental health support in Ukraine
“I really enjoyed the organization of these trainings. I’ve already gained a lot of interesting knowledge, which, it seems, I was already familiar with, but had never thought about it deeply. Learning new things, I understand how I can apply them in my work to...
StoriesMadagascarWater, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
Medair’s innovative response to drought
In southern Madagascar, Medair aims to play a key role in improving access to water, sanitation, and hygiene for vulnerable communities affected by drought and 'kere' (famine). Normally, people living in remote villages in southern Madagascar need to walk 10 to 40...
StoriesUkraineShelter and Infrastructure
Surviving Adversity
“Sometime around 6 a.m., my nephew called me and said, ‘Are you still sleeping? THE conflict has started.’ I shouted at my children to turn on the television to watch the news. I never thought I would experience something like this at my age. It was a terrifying...
StoriesJordanHealth and Nutrition
Health Improvement Journey
"We lost everything, our home and farm, therefore I left everything behind me. I carry hope to have a better place for me and for my family," Fozeh said, her voice heavy with the weight of displacement but her spirit resilient with the promise of a brighter future....
StoriesMadagascarWater, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)Women & Children
Fetching water, a burden for women
In the struggle of finding clean water, women bear the heaviest load "In addition to my duties as a single mother, I have to fetch water three hours away every day," shares Farasoa, a 38-year-old divorcee raising seven children in the Fokontany of Ambory...
StoriesYemenHealth and Nutrition
From a shack to a health unit
Following nearly a decade of conflict in Yemen, the country has experienced a partial collapse of an already fragile public infrastructure, leaving approximately 66 percent of the population in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Yemen’s healthcare system has...