Today's top news: Ukraine, Türkiye and Syria
Ukraine
A humanitarian convoy reached the front-line community of Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region today.
The five trucks delivered shelter materials, solar lamps, medicines, and other medical and hygiene supplies.
Just 3,000 people – that’s one-sixth of the population in February last year – remain in Huliaipole, where repeated shelling has destroyed or damaged many homes.
The aid was provided by the International Organization for Migration, UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency and the World Health Organization.
This is the sixth inter-agency convoy to the Zaporizhzhia region since the start of the year.
Meanwhile, dozens of civilians have reportedly been killed or injured in recent days during attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine, including in Sloviansk in the Donetsk region.
Authorities and humanitarian sources say a hospital was damaged in the front-line southern city of Kherson on Tuesday. An aid distribution point and another humanitarian facility were also hit by strikes on 25 March.
There’s been damage to homes, schools and health facilities on both sides of the front line in eastern Ukraine.
Türkiye
In Türkiye, we and our partners continue to support the Government-led response to last month’s earthquakes.
Water and sanitation has emerged as a key priority and we have delivered over 900,000 litres of drinking water and over 1,7 million litres of water for sanitation. We have also provided over 300,000 hygiene kits, including dignity kits, as well as thousands of latrines and bathing facilities.
We are also supporting the Government’s health response with over 4 million vaccine doses and 23 tons of trauma and medical supplies.
About 2.4 million people are living in informal settlements, some of which lack proper water and sanitation services.
We urgently need additional funding to help more than 5 million people affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye. As of today, our US$1 billion flash appeal is about 23 percent funded.
Syria
Our earthquake response is also ongoing across Syria.
In the northwest, we and our partners have cleared over 32,000 cubic metres of debris. We’ve also rehabilitated 80 classrooms in Aleppo and Idleb governorates.
Other programmes are underway to restore water stations and health clinics. These projects have created short-term work opportunities for 1,400 people.
In Government areas, we and our partners have provided protection services for hundreds of thousands of people in Aleppo, Lattakia, Hama, Tartous and people displaced to other governorates. This includes psychosocial care, legal counseling, and support for survivors of gender-based violence and children separated from their families.