Companies worldwide, including firms in the United Nations and the European Union, are set to activate global funds at a donor conference next month to help Türkiye recover from the two earthquakes that left thousands dead in its southeast.
The conference, scheduled for March 16, was proposed by the current EU president of Sweden earlier in February to coordinate aid for the displaced and reconstruction of Türkiye’s devastated disaster zone.
Over 44,300 people were killed, and at least 108,000 others were injured in the country’s 11 provinces after magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes leveled thousands of buildings on Feb. 6.
More than 10,200 aftershocks have been recorded since, including a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that jolted Malatya on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring 110 others.
The tremors also rocked several neighboring countries in the region, with Syria taking the most extensive damage after Türkiye and reporting at least 5,800 deaths in its northwest.
Last week, many officials, like the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell, traveled to Ankara to inspect the destruction on-site and expressed assurances that Türkiye could count on the international community.
Forssell and the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi came together with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati, and Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank to discuss support for the victims of the tremors.
According to initial estimates by the Turkish government, the earthquake could cost Türkiye no less than $50 billion (TL 944.50 billion) and could top $85 billion with indirect spending.
All proceeds from the donor conference will be saved to meet the impacted region’s long-term needs in the short run.
High-level and the biggest attendance is expected for the conference.
The last time an international donor conference was held was in Warsaw last May, where $6.5 billion of additional humanitarian aid was pledged for war-torn Ukraine.
In the meantime, the international community continued offering condolences and aid to the disaster zone as more personnel, medical equipment, food, tents, supplies and donations were dispatched to the country for the third week since Feb. 6.
So far, 130,785 tents, 1,168 containers and 1,676 mobile hygiene units have been deployed in the region, while some 20 field hospitals continue to treat patients. In addition, 1,602,270 blankets, 226,451 sleeping bags, 83,844 beds, 29,266 generators, 6,312 tons of clothes, 3,476 tons of hygienic medical materials and 5,981 tons of food have been delivered to the victims, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.
More help has arrived from Türkiye’s NATO ally, the U.S., in the form of a ship, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.
The USS Hershel Williams humanitarian aid and support ship, carrying aid materials belonging to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), made landfall at the Port of Mersin early on Tuesday to deliver air for the earthquake victims, the sources said.
“Based on the international call made by our country due to the earthquake and in coordination with our relevant authorities, the humanitarian aid sent by the U.S. ship in question will be received by our institutions at the port and made available to the earthquake victims according to their needs,” the sources added.
The USS Hershel "Woody" Williams is laden with nearly 20 tons of medical supplies, hygiene products, foldable mattresses, kitchen materials, clothes, blankets and toys.
On top of the donations and relief crews the U.S. has sent, the USAID is also setting up a 100-bed field hospital in Hatay province, featuring an intensive care unit and an operating room, to help with the recovery efforts.
Also on Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution mourning the loss of lives in the earthquakes and condemning Syria’s Bashar Assad regime for blocking U.N. aid through its border.
The resolution, which cleared the House floor in a 412-2 vote, also expressed “deep condolences” to the families of the thousands of victims and applauded the work of humanitarian aid and rescue workers on the ground.
Those who voted against the resolution, which was introduced by Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, were again Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie.
The resolution “condemns the efforts by the Assad regime of Syria to exploit the disaster to evade international pressure and accountability.”
“American families offer sincere sympathies to the families who are mourning loved ones and nursing others back to health,” said Wilson ahead of the voting.
“The Republic of Türkiye, for over 70 years, has been a valued NATO ally, and as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Türkiye relations and Turkish Americans, I’m particularly supportive of their efforts to meet the needs of the impacted earthquake victims,” he added.
Wilson also called for the U.N. not to politicize humanitarian assistance bound for Syria and to circumvent the obstructions of Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Significantly, this resolution calls on President (Joe) Biden to use all diplomatic means to push the U.N. to get aid to those in need,” he added.
Rep. Bill Keating, a Democrat, noted that the resolution sends a strong message of solidarity to the peoples of Türkiye and Syria from the U.S. and pledged more support for survivors.
Another batch of relief supplies reached Türkiye from Finland around the same time on Tuesday.
The country's interior minister said two aircraft carrying aid materials landed at the Incirlik Air Base.
Finland had already helped immediately after the earthquakes, Krista Mikkonen told Anadolu Agency (AA) in an interview. “We sent experts to help Türkiye. Seven Finnish experts arrived, while a Finnish expert led the EU’s civil protection response. In addition to these crews, we sent shelters for 3,000 people during the week of the earthquakes,” she said.
Türkiye has requested help, and Finland has answered, sending services from both the EU and NATO mechanisms, Mikkonen explained. “We have found these mechanisms very efficient. Through these mechanisms, we know what kind of help is needed in the area so that we can send that kind of help.”
The recent aid shipment included shelters for 2,000 people, assistance packets containing heaters and generators, and food supplies. The aircraft also bears the same kind of material assistance to Syria, according to Mikkonen, which will pass into the affected region through the Turkish border.
Despite Finland not being a NATO member, Mikkonen stressed that the relief arrived at Türkiye’s NATO base thanks to the alliance’s friendship program.
“So we can use this NATO mechanism also to send help, as we are also using the EU mechanism,” she said.
The EU and Finland would help Türkiye and Syria for as long as there is a call for help, Mikkonen assured. “I just want to add that we want to support Türkiye’s people, and I know that the situation over there is dire and difficult, and we hope the help we are sending will help people there.”
