Health minister inaugurates Manbij hospital, two health centers in Aleppo countryside

ALEPPO, Mar 9 (SANA/APP/DNA):Health Minister Musab al-Ali has inaugurated the new Manbij Hospital in eastern Aleppo countryside in the presence of Aleppo Governor Azzam al-Gharib and several health officials.

In a statement to SANA, al-Ali said the opening represents the first phase of the project, which includes specialized outpatient clinics, two fully equipped operating rooms, six intensive care beds, radiology and laboratory departments, and around 30 beds for patient admission. The second phase will involve installing advanced medical equipment, including MRI, cardiac catheterization and kidney stone lithotripsy machines, while the ready departments were placed into immediate service to meet residents’ needs.

The minister said the step comes within the Ministry of Health’s strategic plan launched in mid-December 2025 to rehabilitate health facilities and return them to service, noting that contracts were signed during the visit for doctors, nurses and technicians in coordination between the Ministry of Health, the Aleppo Health Directorate and the Aleppo Governorate.

Manbij area official Hashem al-Sheikh said the hospital will operate as a branch of the area’s national hospital and includes about 40 beds in its first phase distributed among emergency, intensive care and surgery departments, in addition to a laboratory and pharmacy, contributing to improving healthcare services for residents of the city and surrounding countryside.

Director of Health Facilities at the Ministry of Health Dr. Wasel al-Jassem said work will begin tomorrow in the outpatient department, which includes three specialized clinics, while the surgical operations department contains three operating rooms and an intensive care unit equipped with six beds fitted with monitoring and ventilator devices. He added that the hospital has been supplied with two ultrasound devices for heart and abdominal examinations and a portable X-ray machine alongside existing radiology equipment, while the MRI machine is expected to become operational within a week and maintenance is underway for the cardiac catheterization and lithotripsy devices in preparation for placing them in service.

The minister also inaugurated the Anjara and Tal Hasel primary healthcare centers in western Aleppo countryside to provide essential services to residents of the two towns and nearby villages.

Director of Primary Healthcare at the Ministry of Health Dr. Mohammad Salem said the Anjara center will serve residents returning from camps and the local population exceeding 30,000 people, offering maternal and child healthcare, dermatology and chronic disease treatment, as well as nutrition and pediatric clinics, while the Tal Hasel center provides similar services except dermatology care.

Director of the Anjara center Dr. Kinda Serjieh said preparations are underway to open a dental clinic, activate the maternity unit, secure an ambulance and equip the laboratory, noting the center also provides treatment for leishmaniasis patients.

Director of medical activities at Médecins Sans Frontières Belgium Mohammad Yaqoub said the center has been supplied with necessary medical equipment, staff have been recruited and trained, and incentives and medicines have been provided.

The opening of the hospital and the two centers comes within the Ministry of Health’s efforts to rehabilitate healthcare infrastructure across various regions, particularly in eastern Aleppo countryside, to expand and improve medical services.