IOM, Amazon and UPS Deliver Aid to Earthquake-hit Areas in Türkiye and Syria 

Gaziantep – The International Organization for Migration (IOM), Amazon and the UPS Foundation have delivered a new batch of humanitarian aid to the earthquake zone in Southeast Türkiye and Northwest Syria. Continuing their partnership, 17 trucks loaded with 500 pallets of clothes have reached communities affected by the February disaster. 

“The hardest thing for me is when my children see other children getting new clothes in preparations for Eid,” said Amoun, a widow who has been taking care of her two daughters on her own for more than five years.  

The aid shipment arrived ahead of Eid al-Fitr celebrations, a season of festivities that marks the end of Ramadan, usually celebrated with new clothes for children. “But today, I am very happy to see them full of joy and happiness after choosing the clothes for them in the market. It helped us a lot, especially before Eid.”  

The humanitarian aid was shipped by air to Istanbul through nine UPS flights taking off from the company’s Air Hub in Cologne. The UPS Air Hub connects markets internationally and currently serves as a platform for an airbridge for humanitarian goods. The humanitarian aid was then transferred to IOM’s warehouse in Gaziantep, Türkiye. There, the clothes were sorted and prepared for shipment to five provinces in Southeast Türkiye and several displacement camps in Northwest Syria.  

Amazon supports response efforts through continued donation of relief items and by providing on-the-ground logistical support. This support comes after an initial response in the wake of the earthquake that included more than 100 tons of donated goods and two relief flights from Amazon Air. 

The distributions are being coordinated with national partners in the most-affected areas in Southeast Türkiye and through IOM’s implementing partners in Northwest Syria, based on the needs of the impacted communities. Organized in the format of ‘social markets’, the distributions allow people to get the clothes they need and that fit them.  

“This partnership uses the strengths of the organizations involved,” said Martin Legasse, Senior Emergency Coordinator at IOM Türkiye.  

“It’s based on IOM’s extensive experience in disaster response and humanitarian assistance, supply management system, wide presence on the ground in Türkiye and access to vulnerable populations in Northwest Syria, combined with Amazon’s and UPS’s global reach, expertise in logistics and commitment to supporting the earthquake response. This collaboration is making a meaningful impact in the earthquake-affected areas.”  

Thanks to IOM’s efforts and close cooperation with national and humanitarian actors, and private sector partners, more than 1.1 million relief items have been dispatched to the earthquake zone in the southeast of Türkiye. Meanwhile, more than 2.1 million relief items and 1.6 million medical items have been shipped into Northwest Syria. In addition, IOM cooperates with national and implementing partners and other humanitarian groups to ensure access to health care and protection, provide expertise and support in temporary settlement management and support recovery and rebuilding efforts. IOM, Amazon and UPS are committed to continuing helping affected populations in the earthquake zone in Türkiye and Northwest Syria.  

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For more information, please contact: 

Olga Borzenkova, [email protected] , +90539792786