Türkiye hosted the largest refugee population globally—approximately 3.7 million refugees, including 3.1 million Syrian refugees—as of May, according to the UN.
Although the Government of Türkiye (GoT) grants Syrian refugees —approximately 60 percent of whom reside in Türkiye— temporary protection status, permitting lawful residency in the country and access to basic services and livelihood opportunities, many refugees continue to face obstacles in entering the labor market, heightening humanitarian needs within the population, according to USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA) partner the UN World Food Program (WFP). Language barriers, a lack of recognition of refugees' educational credentials, and employers’ unwillingness to provide work permits increase refugees’ exposure to informal labor and their likelihood of accepting lower wages, resulting in reduced purchasing power and exacerbated reliance on humanitarian assistance for refugee households.
On February 6, 2023, two earthquakes—each at least magnitude 7.5—struck central-southern Türkiye resulting in the deaths of an estimated 50,783 people, injury to approximately 107,000 people, and the displacement of up to 3.3 million individuals, according to the GoT. In total, the earthquakes directly adversely affected 9.1 million people and damaged or destroyed an estimated 710,000 buildings, of which, approximately 280,000 collapsed or sustained severe damage, according to the GoT. Further, more than 30,000 aftershocks and heavy rainfall in the wake of the earthquakes resulted in flooding and approximately 2,800 landslides, collectively causing the deaths of at least 112 individuals, according to local media and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Although the GoT had rebuilt 46,000 new houses as of January 2024, shelter support remains a critical need among earthquake-affected households, in addition to livelihood and psychosocial support services, according to relief actors and international media.
Reduced purchasing power due to rising food prices and annual inflation has increased vulnerability to food insecurity among the approximately 60,000 refugees who were residing across eight camps in earthquake-affected areas of southeastern Türkiye as of May, according to WFP. Approximately 23 percent of refugee households residing in the camps were food insecure and 74 percent of refugee households residing in camps were vulnerable to food insecurity in early 2024, according to an in-camp post-distribution monitoring report by the UN agency covering January to March. As a result of refugees’ persistent economic vulnerability and challenges accessing food, an estimated 84 percent of households living in camps reported adopting one or more negative coping mechanisms, such as borrowing money to buy food, limiting adult food consumption to allow children to eat, reducing quantity or portion size of meals, and relying on less preferred or cheaper food, WFP reports.