Nations around the world gather to help Beirut, Lebanon through various means. Jasmine Razeghi reports on the latest developments in the tragic event.
On Wednesday, a plane sent by the World Health Organization (WHO) with 20 tonnes of medical supplies landed in Beirut.
The need for supplies came as the capital of Lebanon experienced a deadly explosion with at least 157 casualties and 5,000 injured.
With 3 hospitals considered non-functional and 2 hospitals partially damaged, an increased amount of medical need comes as no surprise. The medical supplies will be distributed based on which hospitals are treating a higher number of explosion victims.
According to the World Health Organization’s regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean, “Ensuring that there is continuity of the response to COVID-19 – including targeting the most vulnerable for assistance – is a priority for both the Ministry of Public Health and WHO.”
Countries like Russia have sent medical supplies in order to treat explosion victims while also sending material to maintain coronavirus testing. Before the deadly event, Lebanon was already struggling with COVID-19. The nation imposed restrictions in late July after seeing a spike in confirmed cases.
Most recently, Bangladesh, China, and Jordan have sent medical supplies and medical teams to Beirut. Jordan in particular is sending materials to Beirut in order to set up a field hospital within the next 24 hours. Iraq will send medical supplies and oil to Beirut from Baghdad as a form of aid.
In addition to medical supplies, many nations sent search teams such as Turkey, the UK, and France in order to find more victims from the tragic event. Officials believe that the increase in search teams will lead to a rise in deaths.