UN says only 13% of $1B appeal funded to help Türkiye quake survivors

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - The UN's $1 billion humanitarian appeal to support the people of Türkiye who are suffering from last month’s devastating earthquakes was funded at only 13%, a spokesperson said Monday.

The UN launched the billion-dollar appeal for Türkiye on Feb. 16 to assist more than five million people affected by the earthquakes.

UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric provided the percentage figure when asked by Anadolu.

The funding covers a three-month-period which will allow aid organizations to rapidly scale up vital support in areas that include food security, protection, education, water and shelter.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye on Feb. 6 has risen to 48,448, the country’s interior minister said Monday.

"6,660 of the dead were foreign nationals, and most of them are our Syrian brothers," Suleyman Soylu said at a news conference in quake-hit Malatya province along with Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in fewer than 10 hours.