Updated 16 March 2023
Oxfam's Response
Oxfam, together with our partners in Turkiye (Turkey) and Syria, is working to reach over 2 million people – 10 per cent of the population affected by the quake – with aid and support so that they can rebuild their lives.
Turkiye
We’ve facilitated the provision of food, shelter, blankets and psychological support to some of the most affected areas including Gaziantep, Hatay and Mardin. We will continue to scale-up our response. Oxfam is working closely with dozens of grassroot women-led organisations and cooperatives to reach up to 1.5 million people over the next three years.
It will be months, if not years, before these communities can rebuild their lives. That’s why we’re not only looking at immediate rescue efforts, but also long term needs as this disaster will have deep impact on people’s lives and livelihoods.
Syria
In Syria, we delivered clean drinking water to 46 locations and installed 40 water tanks in shelters. We distributed over 2,250 hygiene kits including soap and sanitary pads. We are also fixing taps and toilets in shelters and supporting safety checks to buildings.
We aim to reach 800,000 people. So far, we have reached over 48,000 people with lifesaving aid.
Our teams are working around the clock to get to those in need. There is no time to waste. People need help and they need it now.
If we want to prevent further disasters, we need to support these survivors now. Otherwise, we will have to deal with diseases, and people dying of cold and hunger, which is all preventable.
Please donate now to support Oxfam's emergency relief work in Turkiye and Syria affected by the earthquake.
Situation
In the early hours of 6 February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkiye and northern Syria – one of the strongest in nearly 100 years. A second earthquake measuring magnitude 7.5 rocked the region.
The scale of death and devastation is unimaginable and will only continue to rise. Some places have become mass graveyards. Survivors need a roof over their head and food, water, toilets and showers.
If we want to prevent further disasters, we need to support these survivors now. Otherwise, we will have to deal with diseases, and people dying of cold and hunger, which is all preventable.
Oxfam team support the sorting of supplies at a distribution center in Gaziantep.
Tineke D’haese/Oxfam
A young woman uses her phone to share her loss.
Tineke D’haese/Oxfam
Oxfam staff. Oxfam, together with our partners in Turkiye (Turkey) and Syria, is working to reach nearly 2 million people – 10 per cent of the population affected by the quake – with aid and support so that they can rebuild their lives.
Tineke D’haese/Oxfam
Two local residents gathering belongings from their destroyed home, before joining to the thousands of displaced survivors of the disaster.
Tineke D’haese/Oxfam
Ali Dalmen, his wife Betul and their four children survived the earthquake and now live in a warehouse building that is housing up to 7,000 people seeking shelter and refuge. ‘We were shaking and we were so scared; I thought it was my last day. When I looked at the walls, I felt like they were moving towards me, so we went to a wide space to keep us safe,’ Ali Dalmen told us.
Tineke D’haese/Oxfam
Oxfam delivering water to shelters in Aleppo city.
Islam Mardini/Oxfam
Oxfam delivering hygiene items to families in one of the shelters in Aleppo city.
Islam Mardini/Oxfam
Oxfam delivering water to shelters in Aleppo city.
Islam Mardini/Oxfam
A family in Aleppo escaped their home when the earthquake struck on 6 February. ‘I had to pull my three children out of their beds to evacuate our shaking building. The fear I saw in their eyes is beyond description.’ - Mountaser, 49
Islam Mardini/Oxfam
Some survivors are now staying in a cemetery in Al-Salheen of Aleppo.
Islam Mardini/Oxfam
