In the cardiac surgery unit at Al-Mouwasat University Hospital in the Syrian capital, Dr. Rakan Al-Nazer, head of the Saudi medical delegation to Damascus, stood alongside Dr. Nasser Kheder, the chief of Syrian doctors, and a joint Saudi-Syrian medical team preparing for an open-heart surgery on a Syrian patient.
The procedure follows more than 11 surgeries and dozens of interventional catheterization consultations performed by the team in recent days.
Dr. Al-Nazer is leading a 28-member Saudi medical team — comprising surgeons, consultants, and anesthesiologists — who arrived in Damascus four days ago to perform open-heart and catheterization procedures for adults and children. The mission is being carried out in cooperation with local Syrian doctors and coordinated by the Saudi humanitarian organization Al-Balsam.
The volunteer team is part of a broader group of medical missions that have arrived in Syria since the beginning of the year, as public hospitals grapple with severe shortages of staff, medicine, and soaring fuel prices. The crisis has strained the ability of local medical personnel to reach patients in need and provide free healthcare amid a worsening economic and humanitarian situation across the country.
Al-Nazer told Asharq Al-Awsat that the initiative is part of a wider range of medical volunteer programs run by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center and the Saudi Al-Balsam organization in Syria and other crisis-hit countries. The aim, he said, is “to offer free medical assistance and treatment to low-income individuals and families.”
He added that the campaign’s goal is to perform as many surgeries as possible — targeting up to 100 operations — while ensuring full recovery for all patients, supported by the necessary medical supplies and logistical backing needed for such complex procedures.
Dr. Nasser Kheder, Syria’s chief physician, said the country’s healthcare sector—particularly in Damascus—has been “exhausted in every sense of the word,” after years of conflict destroyed many medical facilities and left healthcare workers drained amid shortages in medical specializations, low wages, and a lack of advanced equipment.
He noted that the joint Saudi-Syrian medical teams have performed a range of procedures, including coronary artery surgeries, aortic and mitral valve replacements, and cardiac catheterizations with stent placements.
Since March, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has launched five volunteer medical projects in Damascus and its countryside.
Under the “Amal” (Hope) program, Saudi teams have provided surgeries in cardiac care, neurosurgery for adults and children, orthopedics, and interventional cardiology, with the participation of 50 volunteer specialists across various medical fields.
Saudi Arabia’s ongoing humanitarian efforts in Syria are part of a broader mission to support the Syrian people and alleviate the hardship caused by nearly 14 years of war.
The volunteer medical initiatives, led by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, aim to assist low-income individuals and families with life-saving care.
The projects fall under a wider Saudi push to provide critical services in conflict-affected areas and reflect the Kingdom’s commitment to long-term humanitarian support.
Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) has warned that Syria’s healthcare system remains in a dire state. More than 20 public hospitals have gone out of service, and 38 others are operating only partially.
The organization reported that a large number of patients are still in urgent need of specialized surgeries and essential medications.
