Syria Gapminder

As the amount of aid received in US$ increases, so does the life expectancy of the citizens within Syria. According to US Aid, the United States is said provide $380 million in aid to those in Syria that have been greatly impacted by the war (USAid 2014). With the addition of the $380 million to the amount that the US has already provided, the grand total will be a whopping $1.7 billion. The average life expectancy in Syria in 2010 is 75.84 years, after the average life expectancy was just 55 years in 1960. According to NBC News, the newest donation from the US is said to go towards life-saving humanitarian assistance which includes: food, medical care, water supply, shelters, etc. All of these contributions from the US have raised the current life expectancy due to the current state of the country. So, what changed? Over the last 46 decades, Syria has seen an expansion in the capacity of their health care; places that were densely packed with people were able to access health care when needed. The more aid that was given to Syria went into bettering the health care system so that the death tolls would decrease and life in Syria would dramatically improve. When Syria received more aid, the amount of children that were dying decreased which meant that there were more people living than there were dying (Yassin, 2005). Also, the US stated that a good portion of the aid is put towards

vaccinations, to especially youth, to ensure the health of those in the country and to prevent the spread of disease and sickness. Vaccination coverage in Syria has dramatically increased since the contributions by other countries which ensures that disease and illnesses are at ease and sickness can be kept at bay (Johnston, 2013). With the amount of aid received over the last several decades, the living standards within the country have improved, health issues have been addressed, and the access to clean and safe drinking water has given the people of Syria a fair chance at life which, in turn, has raised the life expectancy (Faisal, 2012). Today, the Syrian health care is struggling and, if I were to make a prediction, will decrease the life expectancy in years to come. Many doctors and health care professionals have fled the country in the hopes of escaping the unsafe environment, the inability to vaccinate each citizen has prevented the control over disease, lack of sanitation, basic surgical equipment is unheard of in the health care system, and this could all lead to the decreased age in life expectancy (World Health Organization). Personally, I believe that the reason Syrias life expectancy increased since 1960 was due to the access to basic human rights that everyone received from the aid money. I also believe that because of the current state of Syria that if there was a life expectancy test done today that it would be incredibly low. Aid has been blocked off to certain parts of Syria and refugee camps and that is where health care is needed most and without that, the lives of millions will be lost. Only so much money can be given in aid but it is impossible to know where all of the money will go even though the US has plans for it, and good ones at that. Conclusively, the life expectancy increase in Syria between 1960 and 2010 was due to the billions of dollars in aid given to the country.

Bibliography Johnston, I. (2013 June, 11). Obama announces extra $300 million in aid for Syrians, refugees. NBC News. Retrieved from http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/18/19018208obama-announces-extra-300-million-in-aid-for-syrians-refugees?lite N.A. N.D. Syria. USAID. Retrieved from http://www.usaid.gov/crisis/syria Faisal, W. (2012). Syria: Public health achievements and the effect of sanctions. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. Retrieved from http://ijme.in/index.php/ijme/article/view/132/1032 N.A. N.D. Health impacts of the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic. World Health Organization. Retrieved from http://www.emro.who.int/emergency/eha-news/syria-sitrep.html Yassin, K. (2005). PRIMARY HEALTH CARE IN SYRIA. Google Books. Retrieved from http://books.google.ca/books?id=7aIqAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR2&lpg=PR2&dq=primary+he alth+care+in+syria&source=bl&ots=a1CdxiaB14&sig=UA8DCkoM9dgvI5ffV8WmUD9 gWOA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=LhFGU-jCC8S2AXKuIHwDA&ved=0CG0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=primary%20health%20care%20 in%20syria&f=false