IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has, since its founding more than a quarter century ago, played a central role in humanitarian action around the world. With our humble beginnings in charitable work tracing back to Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have since succeeded in reaching millions of people in 123 nations, including, of course, our home country of Türkiye.
Our foundation has worked diligently to expand our capacity and areas of operations with each passing year. This year was no different. Our efforts have assisted millions of stricken populations either through humanitarian aid, disaster management, human rights, or humanitarian diplomacy—all of whose work is conducted with the utmost professionalism by experienced teams and personnel. One of our top priorities is to strengthen the relationship between these teams, other organizations, donors, and volunteers. To this end, we participate in domestic and international meetings, attend workshops both at home and abroad, and put all that we have learned into practice in the field.
Our experience in disaster management allowed us to dispatch our search and rescue teams immediately after the Türkiye–Syria earthquakes that rocked large swaths of both countries in February 2023. Professional and volunteer groups composed of more than seven thousand altruistic souls worked day and night both to mount an effective response during the disaster’s critical early hours and to coordinate the arrival and delivery of roughly eight hundred semi-trailer trucks’ worth of relief items to individuals and communities in need. Just as we have thus carried out a swift, well-coordinated response through our Reyhanlı and Kilis Coordination Centers, we will continue to stand by all those affected by what we in Türkiye have come to call “The Disaster of the Century” until normalcy has been fully restored.
Our strategically located Tuzla Disaster Management and Logistics Center plays a crucial role in our relief efforts by allowing us to deliver aid swiftly and efficiently to all those in need. We have also intensified on our efforts to train new volunteers and expand our already extensive relief capacity. As the effects of the earthquake were, given the magnitude of the earthquakes, still relatively fresh during Ramadan, we prioritized Türkiye for receiving aid during this blessed month. Nevertheless, we still worked to assist those in need around the world, reaching 4.7 million people in thirty-seven countries total. During Eid al-Adha only a couple of months thereafter, we distributed meat from the animals we were commissioned to slaughter to more than three million people in forty-eight countries, including Türkiye.
As part of our international efforts, we delivered food, shelter, and medical aid to communities affected by the civil wars in Sudan and Yemen. Our teams took part in search and rescue missions and humanitarian relief after the Marrakesh-Safi earthquake in Morocco and the floods in Libya. We continued to support the ongoing peace process in Bangsamoro, contribute to development efforts in Afghanistan, and work on improving living conditions for displaced Syrians and Rohingya Muslims in their host countries of Türkiye and Bangladesh, respectively. Beyond this, we provided monthly education, healthcare, food, and shelter service to over 133,000 orphans in forty-five countries, including Türkiye, as we have done for years thus far.
We have, following Israel’s increased brutality and more stringent blockade against the Palestinians, become a voice for Palestine both domestically and internationally. To draw attention to Israel and those countries complicit in the atrocities it continues to commit on a daily basis, we organized the Freedom Convoy for Palestine from Istanbul to the US military base in Adana, attended by hundreds of thousands conscientious individuals. Our work in the Gaza Strip to help the beleaguered yet ever-resilient population continues with unwavering intensity and dedication.
IHH engages in humanitarian diplomacy by facilitating the protection of civilians in crisis, conflict, and disaster zones; by helping locate missing persons; rescuing captives; and by taking the necessary steps to resolve crises. We proactively seek solutions on all matters affecting human lives, mediate when needed, and work to overcome barriers to humanitarian aid through both formal and diplomatic channels. To enhance the effectiveness of our operations, we work consistently to strengthen our domestic and international relationships so as to maintain a presence on as many global platforms dedicated to humanitarian action as possible.
With the support of our volunteers and donors, we have wrapped up another year of humanitarian work undertaken in numerous countries and of spearheading international efforts in humanitarian diplomacy and human rights. We remain steadfast in our commitment to work toward a world without wars, human rights abuses, military occupations, and humanitarian crises. We pledge to strive in pursuit of these goals with unyielding resolve for as long as there is breath in our lungs.