Gaziantep, Turkiye, 25 July 2023 – A team from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group Regional Hub Turkiye (RHT) has visited Gaziantep City to display continued solidarity with the Government and people of Turkiye and get a firsthand account of the progress in the distribution of IsDB-funded humanitarian and relief support amongst the survivors of the unprecedented deadly earthquakes that shook the city as well as tens of other towns on 6^th February 2023.

The earthquakes left more than 50 thousand people dead and an excess of 115 thousand injured affecting millions more in the southeastern provinces of Turkiye as well as northern Syria.

In the wake of the devastating earthquake, IsDB was quick to respond by approving a US$ 1.5 million grant operation that has been providing a flow of daily required basic commodities to thousands of households inclusive of a wide range of critical items such as food packs and hygiene kits.

The IsDB-funded relief program is fully aligned with Turkiye’s National Recovery and Reconstruction agenda and is provided through Türk Kızılay's social markets established in 12 different locations across 6 provinces reaching more than 34,000 households surpassing the initial estimates by an extra 6,000 families.

The Islahiye Social Market in Gaziantep - visited by the IsDB Group RHT and Kizilay teams - is one of the many free-of-charge facilities that is distributing supplies that address the continuous needs of the affected people including clean water, food, and personal hygiene items mainly in densely populated areas in Adıyaman, Malatya, Hatay, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, and Kahramanmaraş.

Social markets like the one in Islahiye - funded by IsDB and managed by Türk Kızılay - provide a crucial lifeline to thousands of families that are still housed in make-shift shelters comprising containers and tent complexes while the national reconstruction drive in the affected areas continues full throttle ahead.

IsDB's grant funding support, with an overall operation implementation period of 6 months, has been covering the cost of financing the implementation of this program, including procurement and distribution expenses.

The emergency response operation is aligned with the second pillar of the Bank’s Strategic Realignment (2023-2025) focusing on “Inclusive Human Capital Development: Nutrition/Food Security and Social Protection” as well as the United Nations SDGs and the Bank’s Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Policy.