Canada directs another $20 million for earthquake-hit Türkiye, Syria

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Canada answered the UN call for more aid Friday and announced another CAN$30 million (US$22 million) for those affected by the disastrous earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.

The funds come from $20 million in direct relief, and the government will match $10 million in donations to the Humanitarian Coalition, International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan said Friday in a statement.

The Humanitarian Coalition is the creation of World Vision, Oxfam and Plan International. The organization is supplying food, water and health assistance to earthquake survivors.

Canadian lawmakers had asked the federal government to ante up more matching funds and the UN had urged countries to donate more in financial aid.

The UN said gymnasiums, stadiums and other accommodations are providing temporary shelter for more than one million people and services are difficult to access.

“The children and families who survived the earthquake now face homelessness, lack of food and water, and temperatures that regularly drop below freezing at night,” said Afshan Khan, regional director of the UN Children's Fund for Europe and Central Asia.

More than 47,000 died in the devastating earthquakes on Feb. 6.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors struck 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig. Some 13.5 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

As well as Syria, several countries in the region, including Lebanon, also felt the strong trembles that struck Türkiye in the space of fewer than 10 hours.