Last week, European Union and Syrian officials met in Brussels for high-level talks on the country’s reconstruction. The EU’s support for Syria’s health system, including 14 million euros ($16.25m) to rehabilitate Ar-Rastan Hospital in Homs, is a significant contribution that merits recognition. While the EU is demonstrating what strategic investment can achieve, the gap between the conditions returnees face and what they need for a healthy life remains a major barrier for the country’s recovery. After 14 years of conflict, Syria is facing a public health crisis that no government can address on its own. The restoration of health services will instead require large-scale, coordinated action from across the international community. A recent report authored by my organisation, Relief International, details the crisis at hand: many of the 3.7 million Syrians who have returned home are encountering a health system left fractured and struggling after years of devastation. According to our findings, 78 percent of returnees in Deir Az Zor reported that healthcare was unavailable. In al-Tebni district, 41 percent of surveyed households said at …