WHO: 26 million affected by earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

Nearly 26 million people may have been affected by the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria this week, with dozens of health facilities damaged, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday, appealing for funding.

WHO is calling for emergency financial assistance of $42.8 million to meet immediate health needs.

Earlier this week, WHO, which has already released $16 million from its emergency fund, had estimated at 23 million the number of people who may be exposed after the earthquakes and the destruction they caused.

Today, that number rises to 26 million – 15 million in Turkey and nearly 11 million in Syria.

Among them, more than five million people are considered particularly vulnerable, including nearly 350,000 elderly people and more than 1.4 million children.

In Turkey, the WHO estimates that more than 4,000 buildings collapsed during the earthquakes and that 15 hospitals were partially or heavily damaged.

The situation in Syria is worse

In Syria, where the health system has already been brought to its knees by 12 years of war, at least 20 health facilities in the northwestern part of the country, including four hospitals, were damaged.

WHO said it sent 37 tonnes of medical supplies for wound care and emergency surgery to Turkey on Thursday, while 35 tonnes arrived in Syria on Friday.