The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, launched on Tuesday a humanitarian appeal worth 397 million dollars (369.3 million euros) to help the Syrian people for three months after the earthquakes that hit Syria and Turkey.
Following the devastating earthquakes that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria last week, the United Nations (UN) provided $50 million (46.5 million euros) through the Central Emergency Response Fund.
However, according to Guterres, “the needs are immense” and the most effective way to support people in need “is to provide this emergency funding.”
“The effort in Syria brings together the entire UN system and humanitarian partners and will help get desperately needed help to save the lives of nearly five million Syrians, including shelter, medical care, food and protection,” he said. The secretary general.
“We all know that life-saving aid is not coming at the speed and scale needed. One week after the devastating earthquakes, millions of people across the region are struggling to survive, homeless and in sub-zero temperatures, to change that. But much more is needed,” he stressed.
In a message addressed to the international community from the UN headquarters in New York, the former Portuguese Prime Minister urged United Nations Member States and other partners to fully fund this effort in favor of the Syrian people “without delay” and help millions of people whose lives have been upended by this “generational disaster”.
“The human suffering caused by this epic natural disaster must not be compounded by man-made obstacles such as access or funding. Aid must come from all sides, in all directions, by all routes, without restriction” , defended.
Right now, the United Nations leader said, 11 trucks are on the move to cross Bab Al-Salam in Damascus, “with many more to come.”
“As High Commissioner for Refugees, I have witnessed the enormous generosity and humanity of the Syrian people, who receive and protect refugees from neighboring countries, always sharing with them their own limited resources. That spirit of generosity must now be matched by the world community. (…) This is a moment of unity, common humanity and concerted action, ”he appealed.
Guterres also took the opportunity to report that the UN is preparing to launch a similar appeal in favor of Turkey in the coming days.
On February 6, the two countries registered earthquakes of magnitudes 7.8 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, with strong aftershocks, one of them measuring 6.0.
The catastrophe caused more than 35,000 deaths in Turkey and Syria, according to the most recent provisional data, the latter being the scene of a civil war that has lasted for more than a decade.
More than four million people live in deplorable conditions in northwestern Syria, the last rebel stronghold in a conflict that has claimed more than half a million lives.
Source: TSF
