Turkish NGO takes food, medicine to Niger

ISTANBUL

Volunteer Turkish doctors departed for Niger on Thursday to provide health support and deliver aid ahead of the upcoming Eid al-Adha -- the festival of sacrifice.

The volunteers were from Worldwide Doctors (Yeryuzu Doktorlari), a Turkish non-governmental organization that provides aid throughout the world.

Ayse Nur Sarialan, the project coordinator, told Anadolu Agency that the group had organized aid activities for Eid al-Adha since 2005.

"We will operate in a total of eight countries being Chad, Niger, Yemen, Somali, Palestine, Tanzania, Afghanistan and Syria," she said.

She said that a group of ten volunteers was traveling to Niger along with 66 aid packages containing medicine and food.

Sarialan said the group would provide medical screening in Chad and Niger and the the group would hold aid activities in the other countries.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas