The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) is providing humanitarian assistance to over 3 million people across 18 countries in Africa, Asia, the Balkans and the Middle East during Ramadan. The aid, which is funded by donations, includes food packages, daily iftar meals and financial support for individuals and families in need.
The organization’s largest international aid efforts are focused on Israeli-targeted Gaza, where Kızılay plans to distribute around 50,000 food packages and provide daily iftar meals for approximately 30,000 people. The region, which has been severely affected by ongoing conflicts amid Tel Aviv's brutal operations, will receive a significant portion of the organization's Ramadan support.
Syria follows as the second-largest recipient of Kızılay’s humanitarian assistance. The organization, which has a strong presence in Damascus, is expanding its operations to aid a total of 345,000 people across cities like Aleppo, Homs and Idlib during Ramadan.
Speaking about Kızılay's Syria aid in an interview with the Anadolu Agency (AA) on Tuesday, Fatma Meriç Yılmaz, the president of Kızılay, emphasized that since the fall of the 61-year Baath regime, the organization has been able to reach previously inaccessible regions to provide aid. According to Yılmaz, approximately 4 million people in the northern "safe zone" of Syria have benefited from the organization's support since the onset of the conflict.
"After the regime change, we have been able to reach areas such as Aleppo and Damascus, where we couldn’t before," Yılmaz said. "Right after the regime change, we signed a humanitarian cooperation agreement with the Syrian Red Crescent to strengthen our efforts in these areas."
Kızılay's efforts in Syria are part of a larger, ongoing mission to help regions that have been devastated by war and natural disasters. The organization’s work is expanding, aiming to provide comprehensive support to affected populations, particularly in areas like Aleppo, Damascus and Idlib, where the needs are most pressing.
According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Kızılay is one of the leading organizations in the global Red Cross and Red Crescent network, recognized for its reach and impact. The organization’s wide-reaching humanitarian projects have made a significant difference, particularly in crisis-hit regions.
In the last decade, Kızılay has delivered aid to 138 countries affected by natural and human-made disasters. "We continue to be active in Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina, among others," Yılmaz added. Our activities are also ongoing in our sister countries, like Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan."
"Through our Ramadan project, we will reach over 7.1 million people, and perhaps even more by the end of the campaign," Yılmaz said.
