Medical Teams responds to earthquake in Turkey

A series of massive earthquakes and aftershocks hit southern Turkey (Türkiye) and northern Syria on February 6, 2023. The initial earthquake in Turkey, with a 7.8 magnitude, caused mass destruction — collapsing buildings, and injuring and killing thousands of citizens across both countries. Two weeks later, 6.4-magnitude and 5.8-magnitude aftershocks worsened the situation.

Tens of thousands of people were killed and over a hundred thousand injured in Turkey and Syria. People are searching for survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings. This earthquake is doubly devastating due to the humanitarian crisis that already exists in Syria, where 4.1 million people depend on humanitarian assistance.

This is the most powerful earthquake in Turkey since 1939.

In the aftermath of the earthquake in Turkey, Medical Teams is working with partners to bring life-saving care to those affected in the region. In addition to coordinating with our Integral Alliance partners, we are partnering with Relief Experts Association (UDER), a non-profit organization based in Turkey that works with refugees and war-affected populations in northern Syria. Through Relief Experts Association, we are providing medical care, medicine, and medical supplies in addition to repairing two damaged medical facilities.

A history of Medical Teams in Turkey

At the onset of the Syrian refugee crisis, Medical Teams prioritized providing life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian health programming in Turkey and northern Syria. Our programming focused on direct health care and health system strengthening, serving vulnerable people who are already residing in Turkey and ones who were internally displaced within Syria. Medical Teams worked in partnership with International Blue Crescent (called Uluslararasi Mavi Hilal in Turkish), a Turkish NGO based in Istanbul. While there, we had three main projects:

• delivering medical and health supplies to Syria through Turkey
• partnering with primary health clinics in Aleppo and Idlib in northern Syria
• supporting mental health services at a community center in Kilis, Turkey

Additionally, when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey in 1999, Medical Teams raised funds to support the relief efforts.

Turkey is host to the Syrian refugee crisis

Turkey hosts the most Syrian refugees of any country. They’ve endured unimaginable horrors. Their homes bombed, loved ones killed, communities destroyed. Given this trauma, it’s no surprise that mental health care is a critical yet underserved need for Syrian refugees in Turkey.

For Syrian refugees, access to essential health services in Turkey is hindered due to many factors: lack of personal registration, language and cultural barriers, and financial constraints. And as a result of the massive influx of refugees, medical facilities along the border of Syria are stretched dangerously thin. One of the most pressing needs is for mental health care services. Many families have experienced extreme trauma escaping violence in Syria.

In addition to programming in Turkey, Medical Teams also provided relief in both Syria and Lebanon during the refugee crisis.