Earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria: What is Doctors of the World UK doing?

Doctors of the World UK is a UK registered charity founded in 1998. We are part of a global network of 17 Médecins du Monde partners; between us we have operations in more than 70 countries, including Türkiye and Syria.  

It has been one week. More than 35,000 people in southern Türkiye and northern Syria are now known to have been killed in the earthquakes, with the death toll expected to rise.  

“Our teams are there now. Our teams of doctors, midwives, nurses, counsellors, psychotherapists. We are on the ground providing the direct support people need now.” – Simon Tyler, Executive Director, Doctors of the World UK  

The environment our teams on the ground are working in is very challenging. Communication is made difficult by power cuts, the harsh winter is slowing down transport, and many towns that needed the assistance of search and rescue teams were very hard to reach. 

Emergency healthcare has been our priority, as well as psychological first aid to people who’ve lost everything in this tragedy. 

“The humanitarian situation is very bad due to the demolition of houses, and hundreds of people are still trapped under collapsed buildings while search operations and capabilities are very limited” one of our field officers in Türkiye  

Within the first 24 hours, we had set up our mobile clinics, started supporting hospitals and camps, and coordinated deliveries of tents, food, and medicine. Our Medecins du Monde network is set up to provide long-term support to prevent both further devastation and the local healthcare system becoming overwhelmed, especially in areas already plagued by cholera outbreaks and poor general health caused by a lack of nutritious food.  

Medecins du Monde emergency response in Türkiye and Syria 

The Medecins du Monde network has been working in Türkiye and Syria for many years (2018 in Syria, 2015 in Türkiye), providing free access to healthcare, and mental health support services. Our team’s expertise and relationship with local partners have been critical this last week to deliver winter kits, food, drinkable water, and for our teams to make their way where help is most needed. 

Medecins du Monde in Türkiye 

Immediately after the disaster on February 6, our medical team in Türkiye were mobilised and sent to the region of Antakya, in close cooperation with the governmental authorities. 

Safe spaces for our staff and services were set up in affected areas. Additionally, winter kits designed to protect families in tents from the cold and emergency kits were also dispatched to the field.  

Medecins du Monde in Syria 

In Idlib, our teams are operating four Primary Health Care Centers, responding to local needs and providing first-aid. A temporary mobile medical team (doctor, nurse, midwife, pharmacists) was already in the area and will be going to neighbourhoods and newly established camps to provide emergency aid. Idlib – a city host to thousands of displaced people due to conflict in the region – remains hard to reach for agencies not already established in the area and is in dire need of emergency aid. 

Our network is also focusing on the deployment of a mobile clinic in Hama, northern Syria, to provide emergency care to families and individuals affected by the collapse of buildings. 

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For further information, please sign up to our newsletter where we are sharing regular updates on the network’s response in Türkiye and Syria. If you would like to donate to our emergency appeal, please do so here.

For media requests, please contact media@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk 

About the Medecins du Monde network 

The Médecins du Monde International Network (MdM) is made of 17 independent health and human rights organisations working on domestic and international projects. Providing care, bearing witness, and supporting social change, MdM continues its mission to fight for the universal right to health. Through more than 400 innovative medical programs and evidence-based advocacy initiatives in over 70 countries, we enable vulnerable people and their communities to access quality medical services and fight for universal access to healthcare. 

About Doctors of the World UK 

Doctors of the World UK is part of the Médecins du Monde international network, an independent humanitarian movement. Doctors of the World UK supports the rights of everyone, regardless of immigration status, to claim their right to health and medical care. In the UK, our CQC registered clinic and medical services outreach team provide free and accessible medical support. This work is delivered by a team of sixty volunteers, made up of doctors, nurses, support workers and case workers supervised by our expert staff.  Alongside this practical help, our policy and advocacy work aims to make systemic changes to how those currently excluded from healthcare can access the services they need.