Türkiye

About Türkiye

Türkiye, also known as Republic of Turkey, is a country in both Europe and the Middle East with a population of around 85 million people. This transcontinental country sits on the Anatolian Peninsula and is situated between two large trading seas, giving it a rich diversity in cultural goods and people. Türkiye hosts the largest concentration of Syrian refugees in the world, with more than 3.6 million Syrians living in-country, many of whom have been there for upwards of a decade.

Challenges

On February 6, 2023, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southern Türkiye near Gaziantep, killing more than 55,000 people and leaving thousands injured. Aftershocks rolled through the region for weeks, making emergency and humanitarian response in the area extremely difficult.

In the aftermath of the earthquakes, the World Health Organization estimated that 26 million people were directly impacted by the devastation and in need of urgent assistance. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of workers in Türkiye and nearby Syria lost their livelihoods due to the earthquakes, creating significant financial constraints and putting communities and individuals at an increased risk of harm, gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, and adverse health outcomes.

Within hours of the first earthquake, Project HOPE activated its Emergency Response Team to provide key non-food items to the impacted population. Now, with a localized base in Gaziantep, Project HOPE is committed to a long-term response supporting those impacted by the earthquakes.

Our Impact

As part of our commitment to locally led development, we have established partnerships with several local humanitarian organizations in Türkiye and northwest Syria.

To date, Project HOPE has provided 70 housing containers to address basic shelter needs for health care workers and first responders in Türkiye. These 70 units were split between Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, and Hatay provinces. The containers support displaced health staff from local hospitals and provide essential services such as a public kitchen and laundry. In the early stages of the emergency, Project HOPE also provided seven generators to Gaziantep Health Directorate, 750 sleeping bags to the Health Directorate in Adiyaman for health workers, as well as 1,000 regular blankets and 1,500 thermal blankets to the Directorate Family and Social Services in Kahramanmaraş for psychosocial workers.

Recognizing the need to support earthquake survivors with disabilities and mobility impairments, Project HOPE delivered wheelchairs, walkers, and crutches to the Gaziantep and Kahramanmaraş Directorates of Health. Project HOPE also donated infant incubators, oxygen cylinders, bedside monitors, and other medical items and supplies to hospitals and health systems in the region.

Project HOPE has provided 20 solar water chlorination systems to the Health Directorate in Adıyaman to ensure the provision of clean water in health facilities and informal settlements in rural areas without reliable access to clean water, reaching a catchment population of 16,850 individuals across 20 villages. Project HOPE also distributed disaster hygiene kits to promote personal and family sanitation and hygiene. Since the earthquake, over 15,000 family and baby hygiene kits have been provided — with most donations going to communities in underserved rural areas in Kahramanmaraş and Hatay.

Project HOPE has also identified immense mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) needs for survivors dealing with the long-term impacts of trauma. MHPSS programs are being implemented on both sides of the Türkiye-Syria border by partners. Project HOPE is supporting the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and Genç Hayat Foundation, also called the Young Life Foundation (YLF), in Türkiye.

SAMS aims to enhance the health and well-being of earthquake-affected individuals through MHPSS services in Nizip District in Gaziantep. A mobile clinic team provides both in-person and online MHPSS services. A psychiatrist provides online individual mental health consultations for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other severe mental health disorders. Psychologists conduct need assessments and provide individual treatment sessions for patients with moderate psychological disorders. MHPSS workers facilitate group sessions, primarily for women and children. The sessions include psychoeducation and awareness-raising components, to increase well-being among participants. SAMS also distributes MHPSS kits containing resources to promote well-being and coping skills.