“our emergency stock is almost empty”, warns the head of Doctors Without Borders in Syria

The situation is “complicated” in northern Syria to come to the aid of the victims of the earthquakes which occurred on Monday morning, explained on Tuesday February 7 on franceinfo the head of the program in Syria for Doctors without borders, Marc Schakal. More than 6,200 people have died in Turkey and Syria and the toll is only provisional. The affected area in Syria, around Idlib, is landlocked and difficult to access. International aid has not yet arrived. “Our emergency stock is almost empty”warns the manager. “In this kind of disaster, the needs accumulate”he warns.

>> Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: follow the evolution of the situation live

franceinfo: Is it particularly complicated to provide relief in this region of northern Syria?

Marc Schakal: The context is difficult yes because access is complicated, even in normal times. Idlib is a kind of enclave, with only one supply point from Turkey. It is almost impossible to go there to work. We have long since set up a remote hospital, with Syrian professionals, to help people. The government does not intervene in this region, because it is an opposition zone. The possibility of delivering aid from territories under government control remains very limited.

So you rely solely on supply access, is that enough?

It is feared that this crossing point will very quickly be overwhelmed and congested. We already had an emergency stock at the hospital. This allowed us to give a quick and immediate response. We were able to treat 2,000 wounded. But very quickly our capacities will be limited if the supply through this crossing point is not fluid. It’s a matter of days or weeks. Our emergency stock is already almost empty. And in this kind of disaster, the needs accumulate day by day.

Do you also have human needs?

We work with Syrian professionals but unfortunately they were affected by the earthquake. They are mostly managing their family, their home, their difficulties. We still managed to mobilize and detach some people. We will see to what extent we will be able to provide support or reinforcement, at least in terms of human resources. It is indeed a challenge. The objective is to respond as quickly as possible to the first needs: blanket, heating and shelter.