Spotlight On Medical Issues That Will Hit Quake Survivors
Survivors of the Turkey-Syria earthquake will face myriad health problems. NPR examines the process of sending aid to the area. Also in the news: the mental health impact of the war in Ukraine.
The Washington Post:
Daunting Medical Issues For Earthquake Survivors Are Just Beginning
In coming weeks, as search efforts turn to the grim task of recovering bodies, countless survivors will need medications for high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma left behind in the rubble. Pregnant women will give birth in makeshift shelters and refugee camps. Cancer patients will go without treatment. Freezing temperatures mean survivors in thrown-together shelters face hypothermia or frostbite. Close quarters in shelters could also lead to the spread of the coronavirus and other respiratory viruses. (Ovalle, 2/9)
NPR:
A Look At The Impact Of Delivering Aid To Turkey And Syria Through Dubai's Global Hub
In a dusty, industrial corner of Dubai, far from the city's gleaming skyscrapers and marbled buildings, boxes of child-sized body bags are stacked in a massive warehouse. They will be shipped to Syria and Turkey for earthquake victims. Like other aid agencies, the World Health Organization is struggling to reach people in need. But from its global logistics hub in Dubai, the U.N. agency tasked with international public health has already loaded two planes with critical medical supplies, enough to help some 70,000 people. One plane is destined for Turkey and the other for Syria. (Batrawy, 2/8)
Reuters:
Two-Year Old Rescued From Rubble 79 Hours After Earthquake In Turkey
A two-year old boy was rescued on Thursday from the rubble of a building that collapsed in the southern city of Antakya, 79 hours after a massive earthquake struck the area this week, killing more than 19,000 people in Turkey and Syria. (2/9)
AP:
Syria Orphans From Quake Taken In By Overwhelmed Relatives
A Syrian baby girl whose mother gave birth to her while trapped under the rubble of their home during this week’s devastating earthquake now has a name: Aya, Arabic for “a sign from God.” With her parents and all her siblings killed, her great-uncle will take her in. Aya is one of untold numbers of orphans left by Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake, which killed more than 20,000 people in northern Syria and southeastern Turkey. The pre-dawn quake brought down thousands of apartment buildings on residents as they were roused from sleep, so entire families often perished. (Sewell and Chehayeb, 2/9)
On the war in Ukraine —
Reuters:
Quarter Of Ukrainians At Risk Of Severe Mental Health Conditions - Adviser
A quarter of Ukraine's population is at risk of developing a severe mental health condition as the country grapples with the year-long Russian invasion, a senior health official said on Thursday. Michel Kazatchkine, a member of the Eastern and Central European and Central Asian Commission on Drug Policy, said the conflict in Ukraine had not only resulted in a shortage of medical supplies and personnel but had also caused a major threat to mental health. (2/9)
NPR:
Ukrainian Soldiers Benefit From U.S. Prosthetics Expertise But Their War Is Different
A prosthetics clinic that once served mostly American military veterans is now helping Ukrainian amputees get state of the art prostheses. (Lawrence, 2/7)
