The Chief of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus, visited Syria on Wednesday for the first time after the
earthquake.
He travelled to Aleppo and Damascus in Syria. Tedros, the
highest-ranking UN official, visited the country to check on earthquake
victims. On Wednesday, he visited several hospitals and shelters for displaced
people in Syria. He visited Syria from neighbouring Turkey via the Bab Al-Hawa
crossing.
After the earthquake, activists and emergency aid groups
slammed the UN (United Nations) for its slow response. Earlier, UN relief chief
Martin Griffiths also said that the UN had “so far failed the people in
northwest Syria.” He demanded immediate help for earthquake victims in
northwest Syria.
Reportedly, after the February 6 earthquake, the United
Nations appealed for $ 397 million to help earthquake victims in Syria. The UN
said that around 420 trucks have entered Syria since the disaster. The first UN
aid convoy was sent to Syria on February 9, three days after the earthquake.
The aid consisted of tents, food and medical supplies.
More than 4 million people live outside government control
areas in Syria, 90 per cent of whom depend on relief aid for survival. Syria is
divided into various groups. The Idlib region is controlled by the Hayat Tahrir
Al-Sham group.
The UN has mainly used the Bab Al-Hawa crossing to deliver
aid to Syria. Reportedly, the Syrian president said that he would open more
border crossings to help earthquake victims in the northwest part of the
country.
Two other border crossings, Bab Al-Salama and Al-Rai, have been open for three months in order to help earthquake victims.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Syria and Turkey on
February 6, killing more than 50,000 people in these two countries.
Subsequently, many countries and international organisations offered help to
Syria and Turkey.
Comments
Post a Comment