Three months after Jordan sealed its borders with Syria, thousands of Syrians continue to be denied access to essential medical care in Jordan in two different but key areas. A deadly car bomb attack near the Berm on 21 June prompted Jordan to completely close its borders with Syria, forcing MSF to cease all operations in the Berm after just 23 days. The closure of the border has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation for the stranded Syrians. Although they have received some limited water distributions and one-off food assistance, they have received no medical care whatsoever since June.

At the other end of the Syrian-Jordanian border, more than 250 km to the west of the Berm, war-wounded Syrians are still being denied access from southern Syria to MSF’s emergency surgical programme in the Jordanian town of Ramtha. Between September 2013 and the border closure in June, more than 2,400 injured Syrians were seen by MSF in the emergency room of Ramtha hospital, but now the operating theatres and wards stand nearly empty.