Andres Barkil-Oteo

Abstract This literature review examines the significant barriers to effective Substance Use Disorder (SUD) prevention and treatment in conflict-affected Syria. The analysis identifies a punitive legal framework, a decimated healthcare system, and profound social stigma as primary obstacles. In contrast, the review highlights progressive policy adaptations in neighboring countries—including Lebanon, Turkey, and Iran—that have shifted toward public health-oriented models.

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the dysfunction of our health care systems, from dramatic racial disparities in mortality rates to the abuses of health care workers. As a health care staff working on inpatient floors during the pandemic, the medical system’s inequities have never been more clear — and they hurt the safety of both patients and health care workers. A few years ago, I (ABO) wrote an essay on how physicians were becoming the new working class.

Talk about building a new form of citizenship in Syria might seem unrealistic today, but in fact, it should be seen as a long-term strategy. The war in Syria has had important consequences in the country in terms of rising sectarianism and racism. In this in-depth article, I demonstrate the importance of a dynamic and open understanding of citizenship. Firstly, the concept of citizenship should not be understood as a fixed concept, but as constantly in flux.