2 yıl önce

WHO affiliate backs effort to raise $43M for Türkiye, Syria quake victims

WHO Foundation says funds raised will provide vital trauma and post-trauma care for victims as well mental health and psychosocial support to the most vulnerable and affected populations.

With an estimated 26 million people affected by the twin earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, WHO requires at least $43 million to keep providing help.

An independent organisation affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO) has made an appeal to help the UN agency raise $43 million for the victims of last week's powerful earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria.

WHO Foundation is calling on the public and private companies to support the WHO's Earthquake Emergency Appeal.

With an estimated 26 million people affected by the twin earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, WHO requires at least $43 million to keep providing help.

The earthquake-affected areas are also experiencing aftershocks, freezing conditions, destroyed roads and limited power supplies, increasing the risks to those affected by the crisis.

The WHO Foundation notes that money raised will provide vital trauma and post-trauma care for injuries, mental health and psychosocial support to the most vulnerable and affected populations.

Türkiye's emergency agency AFAD reported on Thursday that the death toll from last week's earthquakes has risen to 36,187.

At least 5,814 people were also reported killed in Syria, bringing the total death toll in both countries to 42,001.

Immediate funding is required to support WHO’s 11 emergency medical teams made of mobile health systems and highly qualified health professionals from around the world operating in the affected areas.

Members of the WHO Foundation’s Health Emergencies Alliance include businesses and philanthropists, who are supporting WHO’s global emergency response.

Due to the magnitude of the emergency, WHO has activated a triple-level response, bringing WHO staff from central headquarters, its regional offices in Europe and Eastern Mediterranean, as well as the WHO Türkiye and the Syrian regime offices, to better coordinate critical health care support to the affected communities.

Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said survivors are facing dire conditions following the disaster.

"We’re in a race against time to save lives," he said.

“We urge all people to come together in solidarity, as one humanity, to save lives and alleviate the suffering of people who have already suffered so much.”

WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge said that while “the consequences on populations affected by these earthquakes will be long-lasting”, the WHO “can and will make a difference to the lives of many”.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies