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More than seven million children have been affected
Caritas Syria are distributing supplies to people who were affected by the earthquake. Photo: Caritas Syria
Trócaire, through our local partner Caritas Syria, is scaling up its emergency response to provide essential needs to the thousands of people impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey.
Currently, the combined death toll in Turkey and Syria is now exceeding 40,000 people. More than seven million children have been affected. The number of casualties is expected to rise as search and rescue operations are ongoing.
Trócaire is part of the Irish Emergency Alliance which is jointly raising funds to provide life-saving support in Syria and Turkey. Trócaire is responding to the humanitarian needs through our partner Caritas Syria who have escalated their emergency response over the past few days. Staff on the ground are running blood donation campaigns to cover blood bank’s needs and support those who have been injured.
Caritas Syria is also expanding its support to help reach more families who have been forced to evacuate their homes and are in need of shelter. Teams are also distributing mattresses, blankets, drinking water, milk powder, hygiene kits and food baskets to families.
Trócaire is responding to the humanitarian needs through our partner Caritas Syria
Trócaire CEO, Caoimhe de Barra, spoke of impacts on the ground and the difference that donations can make on the ground:
“Peoples’ lives have been decimated, with the current death toll standing at over 40,000 people. The level of injury and loss on top of the loss of life is hard to process. Thousands of buildings, including hospitals and schools, have collapsed and infrastructure has been badly damaged.”
“The Irish Emergency Alliance member-NGOs and their local partners have been amongst the first responders, working with locally-led relief efforts. It’s vital that we keep receiving donations so that we can provide support and goods where our teams on the ground advise the needs are most acute.”
“Immediate priorities are medical treatment for the injured, shelter for those who have lost their homes, heaters for safe spaces and winter kits with blankets, and warm clothes, and ensuring people have food and clean water. Our teams are also providing vital hygiene kits to help desperate families to stay healthy.”
