Cape Town- Doctors Without Borders (MSF) say they are working around the clock to ensure victims of the earthquake and its aftershocks receive the aid they need on the ground.
Thousands of people have died in Türkiye and Syria.
Head of the emergency desk at MSF Michele Lacharite said food, shelter and clothes were a priority for now as rescue missions continue in the two countries.
Following the #earthquake that struck south-eastern #Türkiye (#Turkey) & north-western #Syria yesterday, Michel Lacharité, Head of the Emergency Desk, describes MSF's response in north-western Syria and announces MSF's partnership with the International Blue Crescent in Türkiye. pic.twitter.com/aFUC1GNADz
— MSF Canada (@MSF_canada) February 7, 2023
The UN and other international rescue teams are in the devastated cities.
Lacharite said they were also coordinating assistance to help those in Syria.
He said they were also working with their partners, International Blue Crescent, that they worked with during another earthquake in Izmir in 2020.
Part of the support by MSF was to help about eight hospitals where they provided medical kits for surgical purposes. They have even set up a burn unit in one hospital to attend to the emergency cases.
Lacharite said they also know some of the healthcare facilities have been affected by the earthquake.
“The authorities were doing blood bank collections to take care of the first patients of the day. We are going to know more in the coming days. However, we can say we are going to focus on shelter, distribution, non-food items distribution, blankets and clothes. This support in Türkiye will be done with our partner, the International Blue Crescent, with whom we worked in the last earthquake in Izmir in 2020.
“The situation in north Syria is very dramatic. We know that a lot of people are still living in very bad conditions, in precarious shelters. The majority of the wounded people are concentrated in the cities and in the northern part of Syria, such as Al-Bab, Afrin and Azaz. MSF is supporting at least eight hospitals whom we have given medical kits to perform surgical traumatology. We have a burn unit in Atme city, and some medical staff from this hospital were sent to other hospitals, which perform trauma surgery,” said Lacharite.
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