WHO health supplies bound for earthquake zones last week. ©WHOWHO’s special Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) enabled it to immediately start shipping life-saving supplies to Türkiye and the Syrian Arab Republic after a devastating earthquake struck the countries on 6 February, affecting an estimated 26 million people.“These life-saving health supplies are critical for treating the wounded and providing urgent care to all those affected by this tragedy in both countries,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has spent several days meeting with survivors and response teams. “Survivors are facing freezing conditions, continuing aftershocks and very limited access to shelter, food, water, heat and medical care.
We’re in a race against time to save lives.” So far, WHO has released more than $US 16 million from the CFE for the earthquake response and has flown in more than 100 metric tons of trauma and medical supplies.
Twenty-five Member States have contributed to the CFE since its inception in 2015.WHO has also launched a flash appeal to save lives in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and to minimize the mental and physical health consequences to come.
The funds gathered will help restore health services, prioritizing areas and communities with the greatest health needs. Anyone can contribute to the appeal through the WHO Foundation.As the earthquake struck, WHO was already responding to an unprecedented number of complex health emergencies related to armed conflicts, natural disasters and disease outbreaks.