In war-torn Syria, a charity offers hope to kids with cancer
ABC News
The beds fill up fast at a hospital ward in Syria's capital operated by BASMA, a private charity association that supports Syrian children with cancer
DAMASCUS, SYria -- At the children’s cancer ward in a hospital in the Syrian capital of Damascus, children walk down brightly painted corridors, hooked up to IV needles delivering critical treatment into their bloodstream.
Nurses tend to babies and teenagers getting chemotherapy sit in reclining chairs. Other children, in a nearby playroom, draw and color to pass the time.
The beds fill up fast at the ward operated by BASMA, a private charity that supports children with cancer. Today, it is the biggest association across the war-shattered nation to offer full cancer diagnoses and treatment without charge — and for many among Syria’s impoverished population, it comes down to either that or no treatment at all.
More than a decade of war has brought Syria's health care sector to its knees. With an ongoing economic crisis exacerbated by Western sanctions and a devastating currency crash, most families are struggling to survive.
