WHO Secretary General Ghebreyesus will go to the earthquake zone in Turkey

A weekly press conference was held at the UN Office in Geneva moderated by Spokesperson Michele Zaccheo.

Sivanka Dhanapala, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Syria, attended the online meeting, noting that there were numerous aftershocks in the region.

Stating that many of the Syrians were traumatized by the great uncertainty they experienced after the earthquake, Dhanapala said that these people were left out because many UNHCR houses in Syria were damaged.

Dhanapala recalled that 6.8 million people have already been internally displaced in Syria and noted that they took measures to support the most affected and vulnerable groups after the earthquake.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesman Paul Dillon confirmed that an additional 14 trucks with much-needed humanitarian aid have arrived in earthquake-affected northern Syria and that the aid will be delivered to 1,100 families.

Explaining that there is a large IOM storage capacity in Gaziantep and that these are also available to the Turkish authorities, Dillon also noted that a convoy of 6 trucks from Turkey arrived in northern Syria today.

WHO DIRECTOR GENERAL WILL VISIT EARTHQUAKE REGION

World Health Organization (WHO) spokeswoman Catharina Boehme noted that there is a race against time in earthquake areas, saying that WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in the Syrian city of Aleppo to meet with local partners and people affected by the earthquake.

Stating that Ghebreyesus will fight to ensure that health services reach everyone equally, Boehme said: “WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus will visit earthquake-affected areas in Syria today. Will he also visit the regions affected by the earthquakes in Turkey?”. “Yes, this visit is also planned. It will be soon, but the date is not determined yet. She answered.

INTERNATIONAL AID CAMPAIGN FOR TURKEY AND SYRIA AT THE IFRC

The spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Tommaso Della Longa, stated that the international community’s support for the peoples of Turkey and Syria must be long-term.

Longa also recalled that the IFRC has launched an international emergency aid campaign worth 200 million Swiss francs to combat the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. (AA)