Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Appeal for Children
UNICEF Malaysia aims to raise USD1 million for immediate humanitarian response. Thousands of children and families remain at risk after devastating earthquakes hit Türkiye and Syria on 6 February 2023.
KUALA LUMPUR, 10 February 2023 – UNICEF in Malaysia is appealing for USD1 million in response to the emerging humanitarian crisis caused by the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. According to media reports, the combined death toll from the earthquakes and aftershocks that struck Turkiye and Syria has passed 21,000 people, with numbers rising daily. This includes many children, with thousands of others injured and massive destruction.
“We share in the shock and grief at the devastation caused by the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria. UNICEF is coordinating support with the governments in their immediate response to provide relief to children and their families. In Malaysia, we have launched an emergency appeal to contribute to a united effort to provide aid to children displaced by the destruction,” said Robert Gass, UNICEF Representative in Malaysia.
In Türkiye, UNICEF is coordinating with the Government of Türkiye and the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency on the emerging needs linked to the wider humanitarian response. Our immediate priority is to ensure children and families affected receive the support they desperately need.
UNICEF is working with the Government of Türkiye to ensure the protection of children in the affected provinces as well as providing warm winter clothing and blankets for thousands of children and babies, hygiene kits for displaced families, and mother-baby kits.
In Syria, one immediate focus is on ensuring affected children and families have access to safe drinking water and sanitation services – critical in preventing illness in the early days of a crisis. UNICEF is urgently assessing the impact on main water stations, and any identifying any interruption to services, and urgently prioritizing providing safe water to those displaced.
Another high priority is that of child protection. This includes work to identify separated and unaccompanied children and work to reunite them with family, as well as providing children with psychosocial support as many children were likely traumatized by the earthquake, the strongest one they’ve encountered during their lifetime.
UNICEF is calling for the international community to ensure children’s needs are prioritized recognizing that children are among those most vulnerable.
UNICEF Malaysia will be reaching out to donors to give to the Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Appeal for Children.
To contribute to the Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Appeal for Children:
Bank transfer
Payee Name: UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND-EMERGENCY / Bank: MALAYAN BANKING BERHAD / Account No: 5143 2960 2449
Donation hotline:1300 300 010
Online donation: https://bit.ly/EarthquakeEmergency_UNICEFMY
For enquiries or corporate donation: donorcare@unicef.my
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For more information, please contact:
Rachel Choong, UNICEF Malaysia, +6012 293 2690, rchoong@unicef.org
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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, wework for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work, visit: www.unicef.org
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About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org
