(ANSA) - ROME, FEBRUARY 19 - A humanitarian convoy of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), made up of 14 trucks, entered Syria today from neighboring Turkey.
"However - warns the NGO in a note - an urgent increase in aid is needed: in the ten days following the earthquake, the number of trucks that crossed the border was lower than the average for 2022".
The MSF convoy, which entered through the Hammam border crossing in the north-west, is carrying 1,296 tents for families (of at least 5 people) left homeless by the earthquake and the same number of winter kits to insulate them from the cold.
More MSF aid convoys, with medical and non-medical supplies, are expected in the coming days.
"We emptied our emergency stocks in three days, donating nearly 12 tonnes (4,000 cubic meters) of surgical equipment and medicines to hospitals. Our teams provided support to health facilities in the area until stocks ran out," said Hakim Khaldi, MSF head of mission in Syria.
"But we haven't seen any outside help. Aid is coming in negligible quantities for the moment."
However, MSF warns, an urgent increase in the volume of supplies is needed to deal with the scale of the humanitarian crisis.
(HANDLE).