The Finnish Red Cross is sending material aid to Turkey and aid workers to Syria
The Finnish Red Cross is sending an aid transport to Turkey to help people who have lost their homes in the earthquakes. Two aid workers from Finland will also join the team to assess the need for healthcare services in the earthquake-affected areas in Syria.
Three truckloads of accommodation supplies will be sent from the Red Cross logistics centre in Tampere to the earthquake-affected areas in Turkey. The first truck was loaded on Friday.
A total of 4,000 blankets and sleeping pads, nearly 1,500 mattresses, around 80 field beds and 200 sleeping bags will be sent out.
In Turkey, the aid will be received by the local Red Crescent Society, whose thousands of volunteers and workers have been involved in the rescue efforts and helped those who have lost their homes since the beginning of the disaster.
“The Turkish Red Crescent Society’s preparedness to help is strong, but even large stocks of supplies are quickly depleted in a disaster of this magnitude. With external assistance, local aid workers will be able to continue their work,” says Marko Korhonen, Head of International Emergency Operations at the Finnish Red Cross.
The material aid is funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. In addition, the Finnish Red Cross has directed €300,000 from the Disaster Relief Fund to the International Red Cross aid operation in Syria and Turkey.
Expert team to assess the needs for healthcare services in Syria
Two aid workers from Finland will leave early this week to join International Red Cross’s expert team in Syria to assess the needs for healthcare services.
People who have lost their homes and loved ones in Syria are in a very vulnerable position due to the 12 years of conflict in the country.
The areas affected by the earthquake are facing shortages of electricity, fuel and aid supplies. The Red Crescent Society’s health clinic and aid stocks have been destroyed in the earthquake, and public services are inadequate.
“The capacity of hospitals is stretched to the limit in the earthquake-affected areas. The mission of the assessment team is to identify what healthcare services are most needed by the injured and displaced, and how these needs can be met. We stand ready to send healthcare units and aid workers to the affected areas as needed,” Korhonen says.
