Qatar says 2 million beneficiaries from aid to quake victims in Türkiye, Syria

By Ahmed Youssef

DOHA, Qatar (AA) – Qatar said around two million people benefitted from humanitarian aid dispatched by Doha to the victims of last month’s devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in a weekly briefing that the Qatari aid is estimated at over 247.2 million riyals ($68 million).

“The Qatari response to the quake disaster was quick from the first day and was at several levels,” he added.

According to the spokesman, the Qatar Fund for Development offered 112.7 million riyals ($31 million) for relief efforts in quake-hit Türkiye and Syria.

He said the aid included 2,500 container homes, 3,500 fully equipped tents, medicines and foodstuffs.

Al-Ansari said the Fund also provided 17.8 million riyals ($4.9 million) to support rescue and relief efforts in northern Syria.

Qatar Charity also allocated 61.7 million riyals ($17 million) for sheltering, social protection, sanitation and water in both Türkiye and Syria, he added.

“More than 1.3 million people in Syria, and 350,000 in Türkiye have benefitted from the aid provided by Qatar Charity,” the spokesman said.

Al-Ansari said the Qatar Red Crescent Society also provided medical and relief aid worth 16.6 million riyals (about $4.6 million), benefiting 252,000 people.

On Tuesday, Qatari search and rescue missions began to return home from southern Türkiye after taking part in rescue efforts for the victim of the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

On Monday, the Qatari armed forces handed over a field hospital set up in Hatay province in southern Türkiye to the Turkish Ministry of Health.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes killed more than 46,100 people in Türkiye and affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

The quakes also killed around 6,000 people in Syria, according to UN figures.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report.