Turkey medical team coming

The Turkish Government through its development co-operation wing, Turkish Co-operation and Co-ordination Agency (TIKA), will soon dispatch a consignment of medical logistics and other requirements to support efforts to combat the outbreak of cholera in Zambia.

The gesture is the outcome of a meeting with TIKA at which Charge’d’ Affaires at the Zambian Mission in Ankara Bwalya Nondo, lobbied for humanitarian assistance to support the ongoing response to the cholera epidemic in the country.

Mr Nondo who met with TIKA Vice President Ali Maskan said President Edgar Lungu had escalated the levels of intervention to the extent that the Defence Forces were involved in cleaning up public places and streets to bring the epidemic under control, predisposing factors to cholera.

He said Zambia urgently needed medicines and other logistics to contain the epidemic.

And TIKA Vice President Ali Maskan said it was important for the agency to act quickly to help a brotherly country like Zambia to contain the cholera outbreak because of the highly contagious nature of the disease.

“We need to act very quickly because this is a very contagious disease, hopefully we will be able to deliver the humanitarian relief by next week,” he said.

During the meeting, Mr Maskan also delivered a solidarity message from TIKA President Serdar Cam to Mr Nondo.

In his message, Dr Cam said TIKA was concerned about the cholera outbreak in Zambia and was keenly following the situation.

Dr Cam said there was no way that TIKA, which was considering opening a country office in Zambia, could remain silent at a desperate time as this, without providing assistance to help contain cholera.

“We need to do something to show solidarity to a brotherly nation, which urgently needs our support,” Dr Cam said.