Cairo, 1 July 2018 – We are following with utter concern the devastating news out of southern Syria, and are dismayed at confirmed reports that two maternal health facilities that UNFPA supports in Mseifreh and Kherbet Ghazaleh in Daraa governorate have been totally destroyed.  Footage that we have received shows UNFPA’s medical material amidst the destruction. They both provided thousands of women in that area with basic emergency obstetric and newborn care.

Targeting medical facilities is strictly forbidden under humanitarian law, as it serves no purpose other than depriving people, and in this case women and girls, from much needed life-saving services.

UNFPA supports maternal health clinics all over Syria as it is an intrinsic part of our mandate to ensure that reproductive healthcare is available for women and girls in reproductive age.

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