Türkiye: Health needs assessment report in Istanbul, Gaziantep & Hatay

Country: Türkiye Source: Relief International Please refer to the attached file. I. Introduction A. Background Relief International (RI) has been working in Türkiye since 2013. RI has provided specialized health services for refugees in Türkiye with a primary focus on persons with disabilities. These services include Mental health and psychosocial support, Physical rehabilitation, provision of assistive devices (prosthesis, orthosis, mobility aids, hearing aids, and spectacles), awareness raising, and livelihoods for persons with disabilities. RI has worked in several locations in Türkiye, such as Gaziantep (HQ), Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Adana, Mersin, Hatay, and Kilis, with expansion to Adiyaman, Malatya, and Kahramanmaras during EQ response. During its presence in Türkiye, RI has led several emergency responses in different contexts, including the response to the massive earthquakes that struck southeastern Türkiye on 6 February 2023, directly affecting 9. 1 million people across 11 provinces. As a result of the earthquakes, official reports indicated that more than 50, 000 people died, and approximately 280, 000 buildings collapsed or sustained severe damage. An estimated 14 million people, or 16% of Türkiye’s population, lived in the provinces affected by the earthquakes, and additionally, around 1. 7 million refugees. 9. 1 million people were directly affected by the earthquakes, and 3 million people had to relocate from their homes. 1. 6 million are sheltering in informal settings, and half of them are women and girls1. On December 8th, 2024, the regime in Syria fell, and the opposition took over the rule in Damascus. This major change in the Syrian territory had a major echo on all Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, and especially Türkiye, which hosted over 3. 5 million Syrian refugees. This liberation has opened the door for millions of refugees to return to their towns and villages in Syria. The NGOs, governments, and donors anticipated a quick return to Syria for millions of refugees, especially from Lebanon and Türkiye. The authorities in Türkiye encouraged refugees to return to their homes in Syria through opening the border gates for 24/7, allowing Syrian families to move their house furniture without customs, and increasing the size of ground teams to facilitate the return process.

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