UNFPA Türkiye Earthquake Situation Report #5 – 19 June 2023 – Türkiye
SITUATION UPDATE
• Four months after the devastating Kahramanmaraş earthquakes that hit on 6 February 2023, the most prominent need remains in the restoration of housing units and public infrastructure, including public service buildings.
• Overall, 107,000 injured and over 50,000 deaths had been reported. 3 million people were forced to leave their homes, 1,6 million are still living in informal settlements (half of whom are women and girls) and almost 800,000 in formal sites.
• The UN Flash Appeal ended in May 2023 and UN agencies and NGOs have worked on a transition strategy for early recovery which addresses the remaining humanitarian needs through coordination, a longer-term resource mobilisation plan, localization and focus on the “leaving no one behind” principle to complement the Government response.
• Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs: The health infrastructure in the affected provinces was severely damaged. 42 of 136 hospital buildings in the region suffered severe or moderate damage2 . In addition, 34 of 97 migrant health centres serving the 1.7 million refugees and migrants who were residing in the region stopped operating, negatively impacting the provision of SRH services. According to the preliminary findings of a UNFPA assessment, health staff at the primary health care centres only have the capacity to address acute health problems.
While the number of health units set up in camp or container settings has risen3 , there is still a significant gap in reaching and providing services to individuals residing in rural areas or outside of camp/container settings. The demand for contraceptives and medications among affected people remains high.
• Gender-based violence (GBV) service provision and protection needs: Women and girls are at heightened risk of GBV, including domestic violence, sexual violence, and sexual exploitation. Rents in the affected areas increased and the disruption in livelihoods forced many people to continue living in crowded informal settlements. This also creates additional tensions at the household level and leads to an increase in cases of domestic violence. Women often feel unsafe and uncomfortable expressing concerns and needs due to the predominant presence of male staff involved in the distribution of humanitarian aid and services. Many women face difficulties in pursuing legal cases related to GBV, as legal documents have been lost and lawyers working on cases have lost their lives in the earthquakes (120 in Hatay alone). This also limits access to judicial services for survivors of GBV who wish to report new incidents. The transition from tents to container settlements has also increased the GBV risk, as women and girls who have not yet relocated to container cities and still reside in sparsely populated tent settlement are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence and other security concerns.
