Turkish Red Crescent to provide iftar meals to Syrian cities

The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) will be organizing iftar meals throughout Ramadan in major cities of Syria, including Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Hama, Deputy Chairperson Ramazan Saygılı announced on Feb. 16.

Saygılı stated that Ramadan preparations are ongoing in 60 locations worldwide and that they are working to support those in need by providing clothing, hygiene products and winter essentials in collaboration with the Syrian Red Crescent and preparing meals for iftar and sahur.

“As part of an ongoing movement of kindness, we work to heal wounds and extend Türkiye’s compassion to those in need, with the support of our nation and state,” said Saygılı. He also noted that they continue to assist Syrian guests returning to their country through four border gates and that aid efforts for those living in tents and brick houses in northern Syria are ongoing.

Speaking about Kızılay’s other efforts, Saygılı noted that they are currently distributing between 25,000 and 30,000 meals daily at four locations in Palestine, in addition to providing food and hygiene packages and shelter assistance. He added that they are preparing to send aid to Gaza via a Ramadan aid ship and emphasized their efforts to organize iftar meals in Gaza.

Saygılı reported that in 2024, they provided aid to 10 million people abroad as well as collected 2.8 million units of blood from donors, stating, “We collected this from 300 locations in Türkiye, processed it in our accredited laboratory and then delivered it to 1,176 hospitals, helping people across all 81 provinces of the country to recover.”

He reported that, “Kızılay plans to collect 3.04 million units of blood, distribute them to 1,176 hospitals again in 2025, and reach 7.1 million people in need during Ramadan in Türkiye.”

Highlighting that they managed to gather 400,000 volunteers last year, Saygılı added: “I invite all 85 million supporters of the Red Crescent to register on the Red Crescent portal. Our goal is to increase the number of volunteers from 400,000 to 1 million, and we are making steady progress toward that goal.”