Among those affected by the earthquake, more than five million people are considered particularly “vulnerable”, including nearly 350,000 elderly people and more than 1.4 million children.
Article written by
Posted
Reading time : 1 min.
Nearly 26 million people could have been affected by the earthquakes which hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, and which killed more than 25,000 people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday (February 11th).
According to the UN health agency, the disaster may have affected 15 million people in Turkey, and nearly 11 million in Syria. Earlier this week, the WHO had estimated the number of people potentially exposed at 23 million.
The organization is appealing for emergency financial assistance of $42.8 million to meet immediate health needs. She has already released $16 million from her emergency fund.
In Syria, at least twenty health centers affected
Among those affected by the earthquake, more than five million people are considered particularly “vulnerable”including nearly 350,000 elderly people and more than 1.4 million children.
In Turkey, the WHO estimates that more than 4,000 buildings collapsed during the earthquakes, and that 15 hospitals suffered partial or heavy damage. In Syria, where the health system has already been brought to its knees by 12 years of war, at least 20 health facilities in the northwest including four hospitals have suffered damage.
The WHO said it had sent 37 tonnes of trauma and emergency surgery equipment to Turkey on Thursday, while 35 tonnes arrived in Syria on Friday.
View comments