Healthcare leadership in Syria during armed conflict and the pandemic
Aula Abbara, Abdulkarim Ekzayez
Abstract
Syria’s protracted conflict has driven an exodus of healthcare workers through the weaponisation of healthcare, leaving a diminished pool from which medical and healthcare leaders can arise. Prior to the conflict, a lack of transparency, poor accountability and nepotism have influenced appointments to positions of power and influence in Syria, weakening such structures. Despite this, there has been some evidence of strong leadership in key organisations that are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in Syria, though decades of poor investment in leadership among healthcare workers have taken their toll. Regional or international institutions with established medical and healthcare leadership programmes must build links to support the development of context-relevant programmes for Syria and other conflict-affected contexts.