Time is critical.
In the early hours of 6 February, multiple earthquakes and at least 317 aftershocks struck southern Türkiye and northern Syria leaving thousands of children and families without food, and shelter and in need of urgent medical and psychosocial assistance.
So far the collective death toll is now at least 35,000. While the total number of children affected remains unclear, nearly 7.1 million children are affected in Türkiye and Syria. These casualties are tragically expected to rise.
Many families have lost their homes and are now living in temporary shelters, often in freezing conditions and with snow and rain adding to their suffering. These people have nowhere to go, and the freezing winter temperatures pose an additional challenge to their survival. They are in urgent need of shelter, safe drinking water, and hygiene essentials.
We urgently need your support to respond to the needs of children affected by this earthquake. Please make an urgent donation.
“Thousands of homes have been destroyed, displacing families and exposing them to the elements at a time of year when temperatures regularly drop below freezing and snow and freezing rain are common." - James Elder, UNICEF Spokesperson
We can’t afford to wait, and we urgently need your support to reach children. Please make an urgent donation today.
UNICEF continues to work closely with both the Turkish and Syrian governments to support relief operations in the region with humanitarian assistance. We have already channeled desperately needed supplies, and are ensuring evacuation to safe spaces for children living in the affected areas.
Your donation can make a huge difference in providing immediate support like hygiene kits, blankets, and winter clothes to children and families in need. Please help now!
Children and families fill jerrycans with clean water at a distribution point in Almyassar neighbourhood, Aleppo city, northern Syrian Arab Republic.
Help UNICEF reach more children in need
Thousands of homes are likely to have been destroyed, displacing families and exposing them to the elements at a time of year when temperatures regularly drop below freezing and snow and freezing rain are common. Heavy snowstorms have also recently hit parts of the region, with further sub-zero temperatures forecasted.
- In Türkiye, efforts are currently focused on search and rescue and UNICEF is coordinating with the Government, and the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency on the emerging needs linked to the wider humanitarian response.
- In Syria, UNICEF is on the ground seeking to fill immediate gaps for all supplies (including medical) and has already sent emergency supplies for operating theatres, along with nutrition supplies such as high-energy biscuits.
- The team is working to ensure that the affected children and families have access to safe drinking water and sanitation services – critical in preventing illness in the early days of a crisis.
- We are also working to identify separated and unaccompanied children and work to reunite them with their families, as well as provide children with psychological first aid.
- UNICEF is coordinating the nutrition responses, especially for young children under 2 years and pregnant women of the displaced population in Syria. We are mobilizing essential nutrition supplies from across the region and delivering essential health and nutrition services through mobile teams.