Millions of children across northwestern Syria remain urgently in need of food, shelter and warm clothes three days
after a deadly earthquake struck areas of Syria and Türkiye.
Machinery digs through rubble in Afrin District, Aleppo Governorate, Northwest Syria after the earthquake
In North West Syria, Save the Children and partners have begun responding, providing emergency food rations, food for
search and rescue workers and tents for children to keep warm and dry. The response in the North West was boosted today
by news of the first UN aid convoy crossing from Türkiye - but needs are vast and growing daily across affected areas.
"The situation across northwestern Syria is like no other crisis in the world right now. From losing family members to
homes, to no food or clean water, the ripple effects of this disaster have affected every single child," said Kathryn
Achilles, Advocacy, Media and Communications Director for Save the Children Syria.
" The UN trucks arriving to support children in the North West today will provide vital assistance to desperate children
and families, but these supplies are only the tip of the iceberg of what's required. More efforts are needed to ensure
that all children receive the assistance they desperately need."
Noor-, 10, fled fighting in Aleppo and was living in Idlib when a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye and
Syria at 4am on Monday, followed by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hours later. The earthquakes are estimated to have
impacted 23 million people, many of whom are children like Noor.
"We went outside, and the ground was shaking, and there was a crack in the kitchen’s ceiling, and we were so scared we
left the house," Noor said, who is now living in a temporary shelter. "We went to the mosque, and they moved us here [to
the temporary shelter]. We need clothes and heaters. It’s getting really cold."
Save the Children is working closely with partners to provide heating supplies and temporary shelters, which are
furnished with mattresses, insulated floors, blankets, clothing for children and wool hats, for families impacted by the
earthquakes.
"We are currently in Idlib, the situation [here] is tragic. The need is immense, and surpasses the current capacities of
the local Syrian humanitarian organizations in the north of Syria," said Anwar-, an aid worker at a partner organisation
in North West Syria. " We hope everyone [will] continue to extend help to support the many families that are still out
on the street, whether in Idlib or the surrounding towns.
Nada- 11 months sleeping in blankets in the shelter
"We hope international organizations and the international community to help us get through this crisis, this disaster,
and assist us in bringing in heavy machinery, help those still stuck under the rubble, to help those still alive and
provide them with medical assistance."
In North West Syria, Save the Children is working closely with partner organisations to assess the scale of the damage
and provide vital support children desperately need.