Turkey to send humanitarian aid to cyclone-hit island of Vanuatu
by DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL
Diplomacy
May 19, 2020 11:35 am GMT+3
Turkey’s helping hand has reached an island 16,000 kilometers away in the South Pacific Ocean. Ankara is planning to send humanitarian aid to the Pacific island country of Vanuatu.
Hit by a cyclone in early April, Vanuatu is in dire need of humanitarian aid. As an island country whose economy is highly dependent on tourism revenue, the country has been going through difficult times since global tourism halted due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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In Vanuatu, 70% of tourism-related jobs have reportedly disappeared.
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In Vanuatu, the U.N. humanitarian office said, “Initial assessments suggest as much as 90% of the population in Sanma, the most affected province ... lost their homes, and more than half of all schools and almost a quarter of health centers were damaged.”
“Crops have been destroyed and many communities are now cut off from help because of flooding and the destruction of roads,” it added.
U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock, who announced the release of $2.5 million of aid for Vanuatu, said, “Thousands of people urgently need shelter, water and food to survive.”...
