Over 850,000 children still displaced by Turkey, Syria quakes: UNICEF

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More than 850,000 children are still displaced by the recent devastating quakes in both Turkey and Syria, UNICEF said in a release on Monday.  

“One month on from the two catastrophic earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye and Syria, more than 850,000 children remain displaced after being forced from their damaged or destroyed homes,” the release said, adding that while the figure has not been confirmed, it "is likely to be in the many thousands.“  

The impact of the earthquakes has been catastrophic on the children and families in the region, the Fund stressed, explaining that hundreds of thousands of people have been left in desperate conditions, while many are now living in temporary shelters after losing their homes.

“In Türkiye alone, over 1.9 million people are staying in temporary accommodation shelters with limited access to basic services such as water, sanitation, and medical services in the affected areas,” and “2.5 million children in the country require urgent humanitarian assistance.”  

As for Syria, the earthquakes forced more than 500,000 people to leave their homes.

Read: UN urges resettlement of quake-hit Syrian refugees from Turkey

“Many families’ homes have been destroyed and many children are afraid to return to damaged homes as aftershocks continue,” the release said.

“Even before the earthquakes, Syria had the largest number of internally displaced people in the world, with 6.8 million people displaced – including nearly three million children. Across Syria, more than 3.7 million children have been affected by the quakes.”  

UNICEF has provided lifesaving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in addition to life-saving supplies to almost half a million people across Syria, according to the release.  

“Over 294,000 people, including those taking refuge in shelters, have been reached with essential supplies and medical consultations through UNICEF-supported health centers and mobile health teams,” it explained.

“More than 130,000 under five-year-old children have been supported with nutrition services across the earthquake-affected areas. UNICEF has also reached more than 100,000 children and caregivers with psychological support, including psychological first aid, recreational activities, mental health psychosocial support, and parenting sessions.”  

Read: Turkey and Syria earthquake victims' number exceeds 50,000

Meanwhile, UNICEF said, it has distributed winter clothes, blankets, and electrical heaters to around  277,000 people, including some 163,000 children in Turkey.

“Working closely with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF is procuring life-saving vaccines and cold chain storage equipment,” it added.

“258,000 people, including 148,000 children received hygiene supplies. UNICEF has been setting up child-friendly spaces near temporary accommodation centers and has so far provided psychosocial first aid and recreational activities to over 5,000 children.”  

Moreover, the Fund has backed Turkey’s Ministry of Education with 87 tents to be employed as temporary learning centers, according to the release.  

“UNICEF has so far reached over 193,000 people with psychosocial support through trained social workers,” the release said, adding, “UNICEF continues to identify unaccompanied and separated children and refer them for further support.”

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6. The quake is considered among the strongest since 1939, according to Turkish official statements. A large number of aftershocks followed in recent days in a number of Syria's provinces and neighboring countries.

The earthquake is currently ranked seventh among the deadliest natural disasters this century, surpassing the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and being close to the 2003 earthquake that struck neighboring Iran in terms of victims' number.