he WHO has warned of a secondary health crisis in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on 6 February. The 7.8-magnitude quake is already known to have killed more than 34,000 people, and injured countless others, and this toll is expected to rise significantly in the coming days. But ensuring survivors continue to stay alive in the coming weeks and months presents another massive challenge.

Robert Holden, the WHO's earthquake response incident manager said: "We've got a lot of people who have survived now out in the open, in worsening and horrific conditions.

"We are in real danger of seeing a secondary disaster, which may cause harm to more people than the initial disaster if we don't move with the same pace and intensity as we are doing on the search and rescue."