UNICEF Says Over 45,000 Syrians Received Cash Relief After Earthquake, Program to Expand

RIYADH (Sputnik) - More than 45,000 Syrians received cash relief from UNICEF following the recent devastating earthquakes, with the program set to expand to include thousands more, Adele Khodr, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, told Sputnik.

"Over 45,000 vulnerable people (such as families caring for children with disabilities, orphans and children with chronic illness and female-headed families) in the most earthquake-affected areas have started to receive emergency cash assistance (people started to receive cash assistance within 96 hours on 9 February) with an anticipated expansion of this program to include thousands more vulnerable people affected by the earthquake to help them cope with the dire situation, worsened by the effect of the cold weather," Khodr said.

Khodr stressed the impact on children and families has been catastrophic, putting hundreds of thousands in desperate conditions.

"Many families have lost their homes and are now living in temporary shelters, often in freezing conditions and with snow and rain adding to their suffering," she added. "The earthquakes have also caused widespread damage to schools and other essential infrastructure, further jeopardizing the well-being of children and families."

Access to safe water and sanitation as well as health needs are now major concerns, the UNICEF director said.

"The earthquakes have created a disaster of colossal proportions with many homes and basic service infrastructure destroyed or damaged," she said. "More than 8.8 million people – including 3.7 million children – have been affected and many are now in urgent need of food, water, shelter, and emergency medical and psychosocial assistance."

Key civilian objects and infrastructure across the country have also been impacted.

"Any disruption to the provision of their services increases the risk of waterborne diseases including cholera and acute watery diarrhea," she said.

UNICEF and its partners are working around the clock to provide critical water and sanitation to the affected communities, and has already reached hundreds of thousands of people with life-saving WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), health and nutrition supplies, and psychosocial services, according to Khodr.

UNICEF has delivered more than 800,000 litres of safe water to affected communities. In addition, pre-positioned water and sanitation supplies in northwest Syria were sent to almost 100,000 affected people in 74 reception centers within 48 hours of the earthquake.

"UNICEF has deployed Mobile Health and Nutrition teams to provide health and nutrition services and supplies to those in need, including those who have taken refuge in shelters," she said. "The UNICEF-supported mobile teams also continue to provide primary health care consultations, breastfeeding counseling, nutrition screening and referrals for children and pregnant and lactating women."

The fund is also seeking to facilitate children’s return to learning as soon as possible, while also assessing damage to schools and making preparations for immediate repairs and the establishment of temporary learning spaces.

UNICEF's support also includes family tracing and reunification, alternative care with the extended family, case management and referral to specialized services through trained case workers and case managers.

UNICEF-supported mobile teams were redeployed to provide displaced families with psychological first aid and other mental health and psychosocial help, reaching approximately 18,265 children.

In order to quickly expand the reach of psychosocial support for children heavily traumatized by the earthquake, UNICEF trained an additional 273 frontline workers on psychological first aid.

"The first transshipment of 300 recreation kits, which will support children with first level psychosocial support items, crossed into NW Syria on 11 February," Khodr noted.

On February 6, a series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks ripped through parts of Turkey and Syria. The death toll has topped 43,000 in Turkey and 1,400 in Syria.