The World Health Organization stated that the catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria this week has affected almost 26 million people and destroyed dozens of hospitals.
The United Nation health agency issued a quick appeal, asking for $42.8 million to help it deal with the urgent, enormous healthcare requirements as the death toll from the earthquake surpassed 25,000.
Up to 23 million people may be affected, according to the World Health Organization, which has already released $16 million from its emergency fund.
However, that number increased to about 26 million on Saturday, with 15 million people affected in Turkey and around 11 million in war-torn Syria.
More than five million of them, including about 350,000 senior citizens and more than 1.4 million kids, were deemed to be particularly vulnerable.
According to the WHO, 15 hospitals in Turkey, where more than 4,000 structures collapsed as a result of the earthquake, sustained partial or significant damage.
At least 20 healthcare facilities, including four hospitals, were damaged in the hard-hit northwest of Syria, where the country’s health care infrastructure had already been decimated by a 12-year civil conflict.
This is making it even harder to aid the tens of thousands of victims who have been hurt in the catastrophe.
Additionally, WHO cautioned that while emergency medical services have been significantly affected due to the overwhelming number of trauma patients, vital health services have not.
The UN agency stated that there is an urgent need for access to mental health support, acute trauma care, post-trauma rehabilitation care, necessary medicines, and prevention and control to prevent disease outbreaks.
“WHO’s goal is to save lives in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, to minimise its downstream health consequences, including mental health, and to rapidly restore essential health services across all earthquake-affected populations.”
According to the organization, 35 metric tonnes of medical supplies for trauma and emergency surgery landed in Syria on Friday, while 37 metric tonnes were transported to Turkey on Thursday.
It added that these vital supplies would be utilized to treat and care for 100,000 patients as well as perform 120,000 emergency surgical procedures in both countries.
The head of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted that he was “heartbroken to see the conditions survivors are facing … freezing weather and extremely limited access to shelter, food, water, heat and medical care”.
