Syria’s shattered healthcare system has been forgotten by the world at large, a top WHO official said, urging new, creative thinking to halt the exodus of medical staff abroad. Hanan Balkhy, the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean regional director, said young doctors needed to be offered better prospects than practising fourth-century medicine in dire conditions. Balkhy, who took office in February, visited Syria from 11-16 May, describing the situation on her return as “catastrophic”, with a “staggering” number of people in need and alarming rates of child malnutrition. She sai…