The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes that occurred in the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş on Monday, February 6th, caused severe destruction and loss of life in Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis, and Malatya.

The earthquake disaster that deeply affected our country has also brought great pain and loss to our pharmacist colleagues serving in the region. From the very first day the earthquakes occurred, the Turkish Pharmacists’ Association, our Regional Chambers of Pharmacists, our Associations, and our Colleagues declared a mobilization; they have provided, and continue to provide, services through dedicated efforts and contributions to meet the medication and pharmacy needs of our citizens in the region.

On February 15th, the members of our association’s board of directors, Ahmet Nezihi Pekcan, Erol Eli Simsolo, Erdinç Ülker, and the chairman of our supervisory board, Halit Hezkıl Uslu, visited our colleagues and regional chambers of pharmacists in the earthquake-damaged provinces of Adana, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, and Osmaniye. They ensured the distribution of magistral products needed by the regional chambers of pharmacists and field pharmacies, which were particularly required due to the scabies outbreak emerging in the region.

As a result of the visits made to the disaster area, our association has launched a financial aid campaign primarily to compensate, at least to some extent, for the damages suffered by our members whose pharmacies were damaged in the earthquake.
The pharmacies of 2 of our members in Hatay province, 1 in Kahramanmaraş province, and 1 in Malatya province have been completely destroyed; the pharmacies of 4 of our members in the region have been damaged, and the pharmacies of 2 of our members have been looted.

Esteemed members; disasters are a time to demonstrate virtue. The institutional memory of our association will never forget the virtuous individuals who have not spared their material and moral support during these difficult days we are experiencing. As the Magistral Pharmacists Association, while we hope that such disasters, which have deeply wounded our country, will serve as a lesson and never be experienced again, we offer our thanks and gratitude to the noble people who did not withhold their material and moral aid.