On 6 February 2023, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale brought destruction to southern Türkiye and northern Syria. The official death toll exceeded 50,000, with more than 7,000 fatalities occurring in Syria.1 An estimated 12 million people were affected by the earthquake in total.2 While international aid from the UN and member countries started reaching government-held areas in Syria soon after the earthquake struck, equitable access to humanitarian assistance faced multiple barriers. International support to areas not controlled by the government was markedly delayed, with the first UN delegation arriving on the fifth day after the earthquake.
Despite this, several good practices were documented in the local response in Northwest Syria. Equipped with over 12 years of experience in a chronic conflict, many Syrian non-governmental organisations (NGO) and grassroots organisations were quick to respond, forming new alliances and consortia. If these were developed further to cover a variety of local actors, they could act as a vehicle for international aid. Such a model would enable sustainable interventions to address the impact of the earthquake and long-term vulnerabilities, increasing community resilience.
This brief examines the humanitarian response to the earthquake in Syria – specifically in the health sector – with the aim of identifying best practices, highlighting gaps and exploring new approaches to strengthen the response. It draws on academic and grey literature, including reports from leading NGOs and government agencies. The evidence is backed up by consultations and informal conversations held with stakeholders involved in the earthquake response in Syria. The brief was requested by SSHAP and was written by Dr Abdulkarim Ekzayez (King’s College London), with support from Diane Duclos (the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and Soha Karam (Anthrologica).
