UN continues to provide quake-related aid to Syria, Turkey

United Nations, March 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) The UN continues to provide quake-related aid to Syria and Turkey, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

As of Tuesday, 787 trucks carrying aid provided by seven UN agencies have crossed into northwest Syria since the February 6 earthquakes, OCHA added on Tuesday.

In areas under government control, humanitarian organisations provided aid to more than 310,000 people in February and more than 140,000 people so far in March, primarily in the most affected governorates of Aleppo, Hama and Lattakia, it said.

According to the Syrian Ministry of Education, more than 2,500 schools in Aleppo, Lattakia, Tartous, Hama, Homs and Idlib have been damaged. Of these, more than 1,800 schools have reopened, while 129 schools are still currently being used as shelters, Xinhua news agency reported.

In Turkey, the UN and humanitarian partners continue to mobilise emergency teams and relief operations in support of the Turkish government response to the earthquakes. To date, OCHA and its partners have provided more than 46,000 tents and over 5.7 million food packages, as well as hot meals and hundreds of thousands of relief items, including mattresses, bedding, tarpaulins and hygiene kits, said the office.

The World Health Organisation is coordinating 14 emergency medical teams on the ground, it said.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, nearly 2.7 million people in Turkey were displaced by the earthquakes. Millions in the country have lost their homes and livelihoods. They need life-saving aid to meet basic needs, OCHA added.

High priority needs include shelter, food, water, sanitation, hygiene, health, nutrition and psychosocial support, it said.

Funding for the humanitarian response is urgently needed. As of Tuesday, the $1 billion flash appeal for Turkey remains less than 14 per cent funded.

Source: IANS