Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: A Humanitarian Crisis Unfolds

The devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 9 has left a trail of destruction, resulting in over 40,000 lives lost and more than 5 million people in need of shelter in Syria alone. The international community is scrambling to respond to the crisis, with relief efforts complicated by politics and infrastructure challenges. The United Nations has been delivering aid to northwest Syria through Turkey, but the current arrangement needs to be expanded urgently.

Key Takeaways:

• **Immediate Priorities:** The international community must prioritize providing medicine, food, and shelter to those affected by the earthquake, with a focus on preventing a secondary disaster from hunger and exposure to freezing temperatures.
• **Shelter and Infrastructure:** Essential infrastructure, such as roads and public works, needs to be restored to facilitate aid delivery and reconstruction efforts.
• **Sanctions and Financing:** The US Treasury's general license for earthquake-related relief efforts in Syria should be applied broadly, with clear definitions of transactions and institutions within its scope. Treasury should also assess the need to relax sanctions further to ensure financing flows.
• **Rebuilding Resilient Communities:** Direct cash transfers and food rations for displaced populations and refugees are needed, with support for community economic activities channeled through programs like the Area Based Approach for Development Emergency Initiatives (ABADEI) program of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
• **Reconstruction Financing:** The World Bank and related agencies must coordinate a comprehensive assessment of the region's needs and available funding, with a donor conference to mobilize and coordinate donor funds. Financing for reconstruction after such disasters in developing countries has often fallen short.

Statistics:

• Over 40,000 lives have been lost in the earthquake.
• More than 5 million people in Syria may need shelter.
• The European Union has announced a donor conference in March to provide relief aid.
• The World Bank has pledged $1.78 billion in initial support for Turkey's recovery and reconstruction.
• Reconstruction costs after comparable earthquakes have totaled at least $6 billion.

Sources:

• Peterson Institute for International Economics
• United Nations
• World Bank
• European Union
• United States Treasury Department
• Ruchir Agarwal, Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and Yale School of Management
• Adnan Mazarei, Nonresident Senior Fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics