New Delhi: Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has played an important role in sending humanitarian medical aid to earthquake affected Turkey and Syria.
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Shri Mansukh L. Mandaviya today tweeted that he reviewed the Union Health Ministry’s efforts to provide emergency relief supplies to Turkey and Syria. He said that keeping in view the old tradition of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, India has provided assistance to both countries.
On February 6, when two powerful earthquakes struck Syria and Turkey, three truckloads of relief supplies were arranged at Hindon Airbase with life-saving emergency medicine and protective equipment within 12 hours. The trucks started arriving by 10 am on February 7 and started handing over relief supplies to the Indian Air Force (IAF) by 4 pm. The last truck arrived at 9:30 pm and the same day, an Indian plane with emergency relief supplies left for Syria at 10:00 pm. It contained 5,945 tonnes of emergency relief supplies, including 27 life-saving medicines, two types of protective equipment and three categories of critical medical equipment, worth around Rs 2 crore.
On February 10, large relief supplies were arranged for both Turkey and Syria. The consignment for Syria included 72 essential medicines, medical supplies and 7.3 tonnes of security supplies worth Rs 1.4 crore. The relief supplies sent to Turkey include 14 types of medical and critical care equipment worth Rs 4 crore, Mandaviya said.