The deterioration of the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic and its impact on neighbouring countries have necessitated substantial WHO support at the international level, involving all concerned countries, as well as WHO regional offices and headquarters.
The WHO Regional Office for Europe is supporting the efforts of an emergency support team established on 12 January 2013 in Amman, Jordan to provide technical and operational assistance to WHO country offices in the Syrian Arab Republic and the neighbouring countries of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. In this endeavour, WHO/Europe is working jointly with the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and WHO headquarters to provide support in situation assessment, public health and logistics.
Over 150 000 Syrians have reached Turkey in recent months and are hosted in 14 camps in 7 provinces along the Turkish-Syrian border. WHO/Europe and the WHO Country Office, Turkey, along with the Turkish health authorities and United Nations partners, are monitoring the health trends and evolving health needs of Syrians under temporary protection and assessing capacity needs as the number of refugees grows.
For further information about Turkey and WHO/Europe’s role, contact:
Cristiana Salvi
Communications Officer
Communicable diseases, Health security and Environment
WHO/Europe
Tel.: +45 39 17 13 79, +45 29 63 42 18 (mobile)
E-mail: csa@euro.who.int
For information about the Syrian Arab Republic, contact:
Emergency support team
WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean
E-mail: emst@emro.who.int