Around four million minors need humanitarian aid to face their daily lives six months after the earthquake that devastated the southeast of Turkey and the northeast of Syria on February 6 and affected 15 million people, leaving a balance of 59,259 dead, 121,704 wounded and 297 missing.
Action Against Hunger is present in both countries providing humanitarian assistance, early recovery and a long-term rehabilitation programme, as witnessed by its regional director for the Middle East, Chiara Saccardi.
The officials specified that in Turkey some three million people had to leave their homes, and more than 1.5 million still live in informal settlements, which represents an "additional challenge" due to weather conditions.
Added to this is the fact that these people do not have access to the most basic needs nor do they have stable sources of income, which causes some four million people to need humanitarian aid on Turkish soil.
In turn, the population maintains its housing problems due to serious damage to the buildings, which has left numerous families out in the open. In addition to this, access to essential services, such as drinking water, sanitation, adequate nutrition or health care, continues to be a great concern in Turkey and Syria.
In Syria, the earthquakes have put even more pressure on public services and some sectors, already precarious due to the conflict that has lasted more than 12 years, the pandemic, the fuel shortage, the economic recession, the cholera outbreak and the prolonged drought. All this means that more than 15 million Syrians require humanitarian aid, according to the UN.
