WHO: Aid to seismic zones must be urgently accelerated
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the scale of the disaster after the earthquakes centered on Kahramanmaraş was enormous and that aid must be urgently accelerated.
WHO Director Dr. Michael Ryan noted that Turkey has more experience in search and rescue after an earthquake, but the process is progressing very slowly in Syria. Pointing out that it would be misleading to compare the two countries and that the devastating effect of the quake also depends on population density, Ryan said: “It is clear that this was a disaster that surpassed everyone’s height.”
‘TURKISH BORDER OPEN NOW’
In Syria, where the loss of life exceeds 4,300 and the number of injured exceeds 7,600, reactions are growing for the lack of aid. Earthquakes have wreaked havoc in areas controlled by both the government and the opposition in Syria. UN aid crossing the Turkish border only reached Syria on Thursday.
Many schools in Syria were also destroyed by the earthquakes.
Since 2014, the UN has been able to send aid to millions of people in northern Syria through Turkey only with the permission of the Security Council. Currently, only one border crossing can be used for assistance at the Turkey-Syria border.
The government of Damascus, which is accused of preventing aid to the region where the opposition is located, says that the rescue efforts are advancing with great difficulty due to a lack of equipment as a result of the sanctions imposed by the West for years.
The WHO draws attention to the fact that Syria is also trying to cope with sub-zero temperatures and the cholera epidemic in seismic regions. WHO regional director Dr. Rick Brennan said that approximately 350,000 people were left homeless in Aleppo and Latakia, with many taking refuge in mosques and schools.
CALL THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, who is currently in Turkey and is expected to visit Syria, noted that Syrians feel abandoned due to the delay in international aid and that the Turkish border should be opened as soon as possible for the help crossover. Griffiths said he would ask the UN Security Council to allow the delivery of aid through two more border crossings.
The United States, which eased sanctions against Syria after the earthquake, called on the UN Security Council to “vote immediately” to allow more aid to be sent to northern Syria via Turkey.
Speaking to Reuters, US representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: “Right now, every hour counts. “People in the earthquake-affected areas need our help,” she said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also called for greater access on Thursday.