Damaan Humanitarian Organisation

The struggles of the Syrian people are well documented, but the struggles of healthcare providers is particularly shocking. A study by the Lancet medical journal concluded that “Syria has become the most dangerous place on earth for healthcare providers” due to the weaponisation of healthcare (1). Despite this, Mohammad Kanfash has grand plans for his organisation.
Founded in 2015, Damaan Humanitarian Organisation (DHO) supported schools, medical centres and communal kitchens in under siege locations. In 2018, the organisation folded to targeted violence after providing healthcare to 50,000 citizens, 250,000 family meals, clean water to thousands and was undertaking literacy elimination and employment educational programmes for young women and girls. From 11 clinics to none, Mohammad has since reinvigorated the organisation and they have a center with five functional clinics. In 2019, in these new medical centres, DHO reached 5,400 vulnerable Syrians with healthcare.
The work of DHO in the field of combating starvation and provision of aid was used by legal practitioners and academics and eventually contributed to the change of the Rome statues in December 2019 (2). This amendment will hopefully stop the use of starvation as a weapon of war in civil wars and will contribute to accountability initiatives. Mohammad is also contributing to a book bringing together leading academic minds on how to prevent and reimburse the crime of starvation.
In response to the unravelling situation in Idlib, Mohammad is working with ‘KUNO’ or the Platform for Humanitarian Knowledge in the Netherlands to advocate for an increase in aid and international support. The organisation continues to grow but faces the constant challenge that the larger it gets the more of a target it becomes.
Sources: 
(1) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/15/syria-conflict-study-cond…;
(2) https://www.globalrightscompliance.com/en/news/vital-amendment-to-the-r…