Turkey to send 15,000 tons of aid to war-torn Yemen

Turkish Red Crescent Thursday announced that they would send 15,000 tons of humanitarian aid to war-torn Yemen, which was also hit by cholera outbreak.

The aid ship will depart from Iskenderun port in Mediterranean province of Mersin in the first week of July and is expected to reach Yemen within six days.

The aid includes 10,000 tons of flour and 5,000 tons of pasta, packages of baby biscuits, medicines for cholera treatment as well as wheel chairs for disabled people, according to the aid organization.

The United Nations said Yemen has been facing the worst cholera outbreak in the world with more than 13,000 people died and suspected cases exceeding 200,000.

"While Africa is mostly fighting against drought, conflicts and outbreaks are accompanying this situation [drought] in Yemen," Kerem Kinik, the president of the Turkish Red Crescent aid organization said.

"Yemen is unfortunately very far away from finding a solution to this problem through its own means," he said, adding that Turkey is trying to prevent this helplessness by sending the aid.

Turkish Red Crescent, the largest aid organization in the country, will also organize the aid to be distributed to needy people in the country.
Turkey's annual humanitarian aid budget had risen from around $85 million a decade ago to $6 billion last year, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz said last month.

"According to 2015 data, our country became the most generous donor country in the world when the ratio of official humanitarian aid is considered according to national income," Yildiz said.