More than 13 years of the crisis in Syria has killed hundreds and thousands of people, including women and children. The standard of living has been set back by decades. Roughly 6.8 million people are displaced within Syria while 5.5 million have been forced out of their country – which when combined, amounts to more than half of the country’s population in distress.
More than 70% of Syrians live in poverty. Millions have lost their livelihoods and are unable to meet their basic needs including access to food, clean water, and health care. The children of Syria are of the most affected. Many don’t know life outside of war and will be forced to face the long-term effects of physical and mental trauma.
In 2023, two powerful earthquakes erupted across Türkiye and Syria. One of the deadliest earthquakes in over 20 years, the initial 7.8 magnitude earthquake was centered near Gaziantep, a city in south central Türkiye home to millions of Syrian refugees. Over 40,000 people were killed, many more were injured, and thousands of buildings were destroyed.
In response, Islamic Relief worked with local partners across Türkiye and Syria to distribute vital emergency relief. In Syria specifically, we provided families in need with food aid; access to water, sanitation, and hygiene; and other emergency items such as blankets, mattresses, tents, and heating materials. To this day, we continue to focus on long-term development aid.
Since 2011, we have strived to help both families inside of Syria as well as those living in neighboring countries. Our work continues to this day, and will continue until the need for humanitarian aid no longer exists.
A few of our interventions include: