UNFPA Appeal for Earthquake Response across the Whole of Syria

In response to two major earthquakes that hit areas of Türkiye and Syria on 6 February, causing mass destruction and significant loss of life, UNFPA is appealing for $24.8 million to meet the needs of women and girls and vulnerable populations in the whole of Syria.

UNFPA and partners are scaling up activities in the most affected areas to support sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and gender-based violence (GBV) response services, including basic psychosocial support (PSS) and psychological first aid (PFA). UNFPA is prioritizing continuity of services while increasing outreach to the most vulnerable and populations in the affected areas, including Idleb, Aleppo, Lattakia, and Hama governorates.

Harsh winter weather conditions have impeded emergency response and the wellbeing of survivors. Lack of heavy machinery to remove rubble, especially in north-west Syria, has complicated search and rescue efforts, and insufficient electricity and fuel have impacted services at hospitals and individuals’ ability to access health care and essential gender-based violence services. Damage to infrastructure has interrupted the delivery of basic social services including life-saving reproductive health services, putting the health and lives of pregnant women and their unborn babies as well as newborns at risk.

The UNFPA appeal is part of the larger UN appeal.

• UNFPA Syria will establish additional integrated mobile teams (IMTs) and four Women and Girls Safe Spaces, and will support 15 SRH static field clinics. UNFPA Türkiye Cross-Border will provide continued assistance to the nine health facilities currently supported in Idleb and Aleppo to ensure essential operations are intact, and will further support additional mobile outreach teams to meet increased demands. 
• Where facilities are non-operational, UNFPA plans to support continuation of services with temporary structures while rehabilitation is underway, ensuring women and girls receive uninterrupted access to SRH services. 
• UNFPA is sending available Interagency Reproductive Health (IARH) kits with the essential medical equipment, drugs, and consumables to assist with the most immediate lifesaving and integrated SRH and GBV response, and will procure additional kits as needed.
• UNFPA will also support GBV risk mitigation and response services including psychological first aid, basic psychosocial support, case management, and awareness raising activities. 
• UNFPA will distribute blankets, winter clothing, and hygiene supplies, including dignity kits and sanitary pads, to pregnant women, those who recently gave birth, and other vulnerable individuals in the affected areas in order to mitigate the risk of health-related infections and potential sexual exploitation and abuse.  
• Cash and voucher assistance will be used and integrated within SRH and GBV responses to facilitate access and further mitigate GBV and protection risks. 
• UNFPA Syria and Türkiye Cross-Border will continue to lead/co-lead the GBV Area of Responsibility (AoR) and lead/co-lead the SRH Working Groups to ensure that GBV and RH response are well coordinated and that women and girls needs and measures to mitigate protection risks are mainstreamed into the overall response efforts.  
• At the Whole of Syria level, UNFPA continues to lead on GBV coordination to ensure that the GBV response across the three hubs is streamlined. UNFPA also continues to work with other sectors and with OCHA to ensure GBV risks are mitigated during the provision of humanitarian assistance.