WHO Director-General Heads to Syria

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced Thursday his departure for Syria in the wake of Monday's catastrophic earthquakes and aftershocks. 

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Tedros said via Twitter, "On my way to Syria, where WHO is supporting essential health care in areas affected by the recent earthquake, building on our long-standing work across the country."

Aid has come from many countries around the world, including the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Iran, as well as Latin American nations such as Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and El Salvador.

The situation in the Middle Eastern country, already devastated by war, has been deemed a "nightmare upon nightmare" by the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, who also expressed concern about the lack of supplies to help the Syrian people. 

Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bassam Sabbagh, said the day before that the Syrian government lacks capacity and equipment. In this regard, the official brought up more than a decade of civil war and Western sanctions.

The Syrian government has asked not to politicize the emergency response to a catastrophe of enormous dimensions. The death toll between the two nations, Türkiye and Syria, now exceeds 20 000, with more than 70 000 injured. 

According to the UN resident coordinator for Syria, El-Mostafa Benlamlih, from Damascus, the catastrophe had affected 10.9 million people, causing "enormous" destruction in government-controlled provinces.