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Hong Kong to send HK$30 million worth of supplies for Turkey quake relief effort, as city leader John Lee pledges to speed up funding for NGOs
- Government has gathered supplies including tents, clothing, blankets, medicine and medical supplies to send to Turkey, Chief Executive John Lee says
- Lee says over 100 tonnes of supplies donated by civil society were delivered to Turkey on Monday evening
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Hong Kong’s leader has pledged to speed up the processing of relief funding for NGOs joining earthquake rescue efforts in Turkey, while revealing the government will send more than HK$30 million (US$3.8 million) worth of supplies for the mercy mission.
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Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday said the government had gathered goods including tents, clothing, blankets, medicine and medical supplies to send to quake-hit areas in Turkey.
“The supplies will be delivered within a day after Turkish authorities settle on shipping arrangements,” Lee told a press briefing ahead of his weekly Executive Council meeting.
The chief executive said more than 100 tonnes of supplies donated by civil society were delivered to Turkey on Monday evening, while the government’s disaster relief fund would process humanitarian groups’ grant applications immediately, seeking to approve them as soon as possible.
A source on Sunday said the government had sent supplies from its Covid-19 quarantine centres, including blankets, to Turkey.
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Without confirming whether stores from isolation centres had formed part of the donations, a spokesman for the government said it had been gathering supplies after discussions with the Turkish consulate in Hong Kong and relief organisations on Monday.
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