March 31 () –
The UN has called for more resources “urgently” to help the more than 15 million affected by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, whose specific fund has “low” funding.
“5.6 percent is low. Let’s be clear. The 4.8 billion dollars (about 4.4 billion euros) are a humanitarian request that is only 5.6 percent funded and that we requested before the earthquake due to the humanitarian situation There is also another specific fund for the earthquake,” declared the spokesman for the United Nations General Secretariat, Stéphane Dujarric, at a press conference.
In addition, he added that, with some exceptions, most UN funds have very low funding, something that “makes it difficult” to distribute “much-needed” humanitarian aid.
However, this has not prevented some three million people from receiving emergency food aid.
Since last month, shelter assistance has been distributed to some 100,000 people in Syria, in addition to delivering more than 850,000 prepared food rations and more than a million hot meals in affected areas.
In Turkey, more than 700,000 people have been provided with shelter and another four million have received basic items such as clothing, cooking and sleeping supplies.
Northwestern Syria has recently been affected by a storm that has killed at least two people and damaged some 500 tents. These same areas were affected by flooding earlier in the month.
