WHO/ Europa – Terremoto in Turchia: come supportare la situazione di emergenza

Monday, 6 February 2023

In the wake of today’s devastating earthquakes that struck the south-eastern region of Türkiye, a WHO/Europe Member State, near the border with Syria, the WHO Regional Office for Europe extends its deepest condolences and is poised and ready to support the Turkish Ministry of Health, including through the WHO Country Office in Türkiye and in collaboration with WHO Headquarters, with the humanitarian emergency response.

“Amid the devastation wrought by the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, I want to express my deepest condolences to all the affected communities,” said WHO/Europe Regional Director Dr Hans Henri P Kluge. “WHO/Europe and WHO/Türkiye are committed to assisting any unmet needs now and in the future, recognizing Türkiye has its own extensive response capabilities that are already action and responding in the earthquake-affected areas

The epicentre of the initial quake was close to the Turkish city of Gaziantep, where WHO has a field office primarily supporting WHO’s humanitarian operations in northwest Syria, and now operating as our response hub for this crisis too. News outlets are reporting that over 1,500 people have been killed in Türkiye alone, with the toll likely to mount as rescue efforts intensify and more information becomes available.

Tha Syrian Arab Republic is a Member State of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO), which is offering its support to parts of northern and northwestern Syria that have also been heavily affected by the natural disaster. Both WHO/Europe and WHO/EMRO are working together with WHO Headquarters to address critical health needs stemming from the crisis.

WHO’s classified emergency medical teams initiative has been activated to provide essential health care for the injured and most vulnerable affected by the disaster, in response to a request for international assistance. National authorities are focusing on search and rescue in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes, while anticipating increased need for trauma care to treat the injured. Also, the wider health system will need to be supported in affected areas including where health facilities may have been damaged.

“The immediate priority is to support the response locally,” noted Dr Catherine Smallwood, Senior Emergency Manager coordinating the Türkiye earthquake response at WHO/Europe. “Türkiye has very strong capacity to respond to earthquakes, but such is the level of the destruction, they have put out an alert for international medical assistance. And we are coordinating potential deployment with the Turkish authorities.”  bbh

WHO/Europe will continue to provide updates on the support provided to Türkiye, and the health needs being addressed amid the response, as the situation evolves.

ENDS

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