The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will provide $85 million in urgent humanitarian assistance as the Agency continues to lead the U.S. government response to the worst earthquake to hit the region in nearly a century. USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) mobilized hours after the earthquakes, and our top priority is ramping up search and rescue operations for those trapped in the rubble.
This new funding is supporting USAID's humanitarian partners to deliver urgently-needed aid for millions of people in Türkiye and in Syria. USAID is providing emergency food and shelter for refugees and newly displaced people, winter supplies to help families brave the cold, critical health care services to provide trauma support, safe drinking water to prevent disease, and hygiene and sanitation assistance to keep people safe and healthy.
Today's new assistance is part of USAID's broader contribution to help people affected by the devastating Türkiye/Syria earthquakes. It builds on the DART's ongoing efforts on the ground which is determining priority needs, coordinating U.S. government response efforts, and delivering assistance to millions of people.
Hours after the earthquakes, the United States government rapidly mobilized to assist the Government of Türkiye and humanitarian partners in Syria after the February 6 earthquakes, at the direction of President Biden. The same day, USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced the deployment of the DART. The DART is currently operating out of Adiyaman, Adana, and Ankara and comprises nearly 200 people, including disaster experts from USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, as well as 159 search and rescue members and 12 canines. This includes locally-based USAID disaster experts who continue to assess needs in coordination with local authorities to inform response efforts.
USAID commends the outpouring of support from around the world, and we welcome contributions of other donors to continue scaling up assistance to reach the people who need it most.
The United States remains committed to supporting the Government of Türkiye's response and providing life-saving assistance to the Syrian people in responding to this devastating disaster.
