New Delhi: The regional director for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO), Hans Kluge, declared on Wednesday that the devastating earthquakes that have struck central Turkey and northwestern Syria are the “worst natural disaster” in the region in a century.
The WHO representative also announced that “the largest deployment of emergency medical teams” in the organization’s 75-year history in the European region has begun. So far, 22 units have arrived in Turkey to join the country’s “ongoing health response.”
Its aim is to support damaged medical facilities, focusing on the high number of injured patients, while water and sanitation facilities are severely affected, raising concerns about health problems, including the spread of infectious diseases.
?According to the Turkish authorities, an estimated 80,000 people are hospitalized, which places a huge burden on the healthcare system, which has been hit hard by the catastrophe,? Kluge said.
The WHO has already requested $43 million to support the response to the earthquakes, while the senior official hopes that double the allocated resources will go to the affected area soon.
“I expect it to at least double in the coming days as we get a better assessment of the sheer scale of this crisis and the needs,” Kluge added.
