The earthquake strikes in Turkey affected a significant part of the neighbouring region in Syria. At the beginning of March 2023, the affected population in Syria was estimated at over 5 million people, with at least 12,000 injured and over 6,000 people missing in action. Médecins du Monde is active in the Afrin, Jadairis, Aleppo and Idlib regions.
The large number of people injured by the earthquake in Syria that hit Idlib has put considerable pressure on hospitals in the region, which are struggling to provide care and support to those affected by the disaster. However, this has led to the production of a large volume of medical waste in these hospitals.
Médecins du Monde incinerators receive medical waste from most medical facilities in Idlib, and MdM staff are working tirelessly to intensify their efforts to safely and efficiently incinerate and dispose of this waste until local systems are restored.
At the same time, all MdM primary health care centres are in operation. In particular, 2 mobile teams are reaching families and individuals who have taken refuge in makeshift camps after the earthquake, while the remaining staff are providing services in the health centres in Dana district in Idlib and in the communities of Sarmada, Al Doaa, Al Salam, Qah and Kemmune, while three more centres are preparing to open in the near future.