The United States and international partners are continuing to support survivors of the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. On March 20, the U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced an additional $50 million in humanitarian assistance for the earthquake response in the region, bringing total U.S. support for the response to more than $235 million.
The new funding continues to provide food assistance, safe water, sanitation, shelter and household essentials, as well as psychosocial support to help people recovering from the trauma of the February 6 earthquakes, which killed more than 50,000 people and displaced at least 3 million. The United States announced the assistance during the international donors conference Together for the People in Türkiye and Syria in Brussels, co-hosted by the European Commission and the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which raised $7.5 billion in humanitarian assistance.
“The U.S. will continue to support those impacted in Türkiye and Syria,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said March 21, applauding the EU-led fundraising effort. “We welcome and encourage continued support from our international partners in this time of great need.”
The United States works with international and national partners, including U.N. agencies and nongovernmental organizations, to deliver assistance. Above, supplies arrive at a camp for families displaced by disasters in A’zaz, Syria, on March 1.
On March 7, U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Jeffry Flake announced the donation of a U.S. Department of Defense field hospital to the Turkish Ministry of Health. The U.S. military, with support from USAID, built the hospital on the grounds of Mustafa Kemal University in Hatay province at the request of the Turkish government.
UNICEF is setting up schools and supporting children affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. Above, a UNICEF worker plays games with children February 23 at a stadium in Latakia, Syria, that is serving as a shelter for displaced families. The United States is UNICEF’s largest funder.
Americans also donated millions of dollars for earthquake relief through charities, such as the Turkish Philanthropy Funds and the Chicago-based nonprofit Karam Foundation, which supports displaced Syrians, as well as through websites like CIDI.org. The donations support relief organizations, including the Syrian American Medical Society, Relief International and the Karam Foundation, seen above distributing assistance in Türkiye.
The United States, through USAID, worked with the U.N. International Organization for Migration to fly 816,000 kilograms of aid, including blankets, shelter and hygiene kits, seen being distributed in southern Türkiye on February 19. The supplies reached earthquake-affected people in both Türkiye and Syria.
The U.S. business community has pledged more than $111 million to international organizations responding to the earthquake, including U.N. agencies, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and Islamic Relief USA, seen unloading relief supplies in Türkiye on February 13.
