Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are among the top five donors so far to the UN fund for relief work in Turkey after the earthquake that killed more than 55,000 people.
Donors have so far contributed $268 million to the $1 billion flash appeal issued by the UN after the 7.8-magnitude quake on February 6 and its aftershocks that devastated areas of south-east Turkey and parts of war-torn Syria
The UN humanitarian agency’s spokesman, Jens Laerke, told reporters in Geneva on Friday that the initial emergency phase of the assistance programme had ended.
On February 16, the UN launched an appeal for $1 billion to help more than five million people in Turkey during the first three months after the quake.
The US, Kuwait, the European Commission, the UN’s emergency fund CERF and Saudi Arabia are currently the top five donors.
Mr Laerke said UN and other humanitarian agencies had reached more than 4.1 million people with basic household items and clothes.
Of those, almost three million had also received emergency food aid, and 1.6 million has received water, sanitation and hygiene assistance.
The EU hosted a conference in Brussels earlier this month to raise money for reconstruction, the longer third phase.
Donors pledged €7 billion ($7.6 billion) to help Turkey and Syria recover, although Ankara has forecast the cost of rebuilding at well more than 10 times that figure.
“Now we are involved in the humanitarian emergency phase, where we look at what the survivors need,” he said.
The shortage of workers is also having an impact, with particular concerns as the summer harvest season draws closer.
The FAO is appealing for $112 million to help quake-affected communities in Turkey, including $25 million under a wider UN appeal issued in February to provide cash, livestock and agricultural support to 900,000 people in rural areas.
“The planting season deadline is approaching. We need to urgently support our farmers by providing fertilisers and seeds,” said FAO co-ordinator Viorel Gutu.
“This is our only chance to maintain crop production levels this year. We also need to provide animals with feed to maintain their health and productivity.”
The FAO said more than one-third of the population in the hardest-hit areas relied on agriculture to survive.
Source : The National News