Credit: MAEE
Luxembourg's authorities have announced that the country is strengthening its humanitarian support for people affected by the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria through in-kind donations to Turkey.
The Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has donated 8,000 sleeping bags, 2,000 hygiene kits and twelve electric generators for a total value of €500,000. As part of its close collaboration with the Turkish Embassy in Luxembourg, the Directorate also covered the transport costs of in-kind donations collected by the embassy.
The donations also include 236 pallets of medical consumable items worth a total of €250,000 provided by Luxembourg's Ministry of Health and the Luxembourg Hospital Federation (FHL), such as surgical masks, compresses and syringes.
In addition, B Medical Systems, a Luxembourg-based global manufacturer and distributor of quality medical devices, donated 50 transport boxes for medicines and blood infusions.
The donations are being deployed through two charter flights operated by the national freight company Cargolux and co-financed by the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs and the European Union (EU). The departure of the first flight took place on the morning of Wednesday 22 February 2023, while the second flight is scheduled for a later date.
The collection and dispatch of emergency equipment was coordinated by the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, in close collaboration with the Embassy of Luxembourg in Ankara, and was carried out in collaboration with several Luxembourg players, namely the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS) and those from the private sector.
As part of Luxembourg's immediate response to the earthquakes, the country's development cooperation programme is contributing a total of nearly €1 million to support the humanitarian operations of several partners active in Turkey and Syria, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC ) and the Luxembourg humanitarian NGOs Handicap International Luxembourg, Care in Luxembourg and Fondation Caritas. The latter are present mainly in Syria at present, working to meet the most urgent needs of the people affected by the earthquakes, notably by providing them with food, shelter and heating, as well as medical assistance. In addition to its support for Turkey, Luxembourg is devoting more than 50% of its financial contribution to supporting the Syrian population.
