Let’s alleviate the impact of a tragedy that will live on for generations
On February 6, 2023, two major earthquakes, magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6, struck ten provinces in Turkey and Syria and were followed by 6,212 aftershocks, causing widespread damage and a very high number of fatalities.
According to initially available information, 41,020 people have lost their lives in Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis and Malatya and Elazığ.
Immediately after the disaster and unprecedented tragedy the Turkish Veterinary Medical Association (TVMA) built a team and reached to the earthquake zone to do their best for helping people. They witnessed the huge number of the buildings collapsed, including veterinary clinics and that among the fatalities were also veterinarians.
Despite all these adverse conditions, veterinarians from different regions of Turkey volunteered go to the area, coordinated by TVMA, to provide animal health services, paying particular attention to treating animals injured by debris.
The TVMA reports that:
- 264 veterinarians affected by this disaster requested the support of TVMA, 204 of them work as self-employed veterinarians and provide animal health services in their city.
- 150 veterinarians have lost their clinics.
- 200 veterinarians lost their houses.
According to Dr. Murat Aslan, TVMA President “in order to alleviate these awful days, we are going through, we continue to strive beyond our best using all our national and international collaborations. It is not easy what would be the most useful support we could offer, but all support will show those affected that we do care”.
Based on the TVMA evaluation the more efficient option for helping affected veterinarians is financial aid. The Turkish association has opened two financial aid bank accounts, one in EUR and the other in USD.
Donations will be used for:
• The colleagues whose clinic was destroyed in the region to start working again and meet their urgent needs,
• Families and children of the colleagues who lost their lives
• Veterinary students whose families are in the earthquake area and located in different cities.
Accounts details
