A Turkish doctor who provides support in Kahramanmaras told the Lusa agency that cases of scabies, diarrhea and fever are starting to appear due to the lack of hygiene and health conditions of those who survived the earthquake.
“There is a lack of hygiene and basic health conditions. There are no diapers, sanitary napkins, toilet paper, there are no bathrooms,” noted Dr Abdullah AlBayrak of the non-governmental organization Dünya Doktorlari (Doctors of the World), which provides support doctor in Kahramanmaras.
Despite the fact that we are not yet facing an epidemic situation, he noted that “contagion” is easy in the current context, where people are congregating next to the wreckage and sleeping in small tents.
The team coordinator on the ground, Akin Hacioglu, said the primary concern of the facility, which has been on the scene since day one, was to help the injured.
At the moment, the focus is on ensuring the medical support of children and young people, as well as ensuring the medication supply to people with chronic diseases.
Akin also stressed that the cold could also affect the lives of survivors, especially children, in a city of one million, located at the foot of Mount Ahir, where temperatures can be negative at night.
The organization is responding in the complex created by the stadium of the local football club, which has grown into a sea of tents, where hundreds of survivors sleep every day.
Inside, the Lusa office found a long queue of residents who are going to take stock of their needs with the government.
Gas, food, clothing, medicine or health support are offered in that stadium, where the AFAD tents, a structure of the Turkish government set up to respond in times of disasters, are visible.
Military personnel control access to that support center and prevent foreigners from entering.
Source: DN
