UN food agency aims to reach 500,000 earthquake victims in Türkiye, Syria

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) – The UN World Food Program (WFP) on Friday said it is aiming to reach about half a million people in both Türkiye and Syria affected by this week’s deadly earthquakes.

More than 19,300 people have died and over 77,700 others were injured after two strong earthquakes jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, according to latest official figures.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, have impacted some 13 million people across 10 Turkish provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

In neighboring Syria, the death toll has climbed above 3,300, with more than 5,200 people wounded.

The WFP said it has so far provided urgently needed food supplies to 115,000 people in the two countries.

It will provide family food packages to people for one to two weeks while services stabilize, as well as distribute meals in shelter camps with no cooking facilities.

The WFP has started delivering family food packages to “temporary accommodation camps, which already house around 44,000 Syrians and now include newly arrived Turkish nationals who are displaced due to the earthquakes.”

“We’re providing mainly hot meals, ready-to-eat food rations and family food packages – things that require no cooking facilities and can be consumed immediately,” said Corinne Fleischer, the agency’s regional director for Middle East and North Africa.

“For the thousands of people affected by the earthquakes, food is one of the top needs right now and our priority is to get it to the people who need it fast.”

The UN body is appealing for $77 million to provide assistance through food rations and hot meals to a total of 874,000 people in Türkiye and Syria.