Academic Assessments – Türkiye Humanitarian Action Overview

A Turning Point in Türkiye’s Seismic History: The 6 February Earthquakes

Meltem Şenol Balaban

Assoc. Prof. Dr., Faculty Member, Faculty of Architecture, Department of City and Regional Planning, METU. Director, METU Disaster Management Implementation and Research Center.

On 6 February 2023, as preparations for the Republic’s centennial anniversary were in the top gear across Türkiye’s vast geographical landscape, two successive earthquakes plunged the country into another direction, another air – an atmosphere where preparations for a landmark centenary celebration was forced to take a back seat in the social, cultural, and or…

Disaster Risk Management and February 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes: Crisis Management in Elbistan

Muammer Tün

Asst. Prof., Dr., Earth and Space Sciences Institute, Eskişehir Technical University, Department of Earth Sciences and Earthquake Engineering

Türkiye’s topography is highly susceptible to natural disasters, which, compounded by emergent technological disasters, have resulted in profound human casualties and irrecoverable economic loss. As a result, national security and development initiatives have, since 2023, prioritized outcome- and impact-oriented, disaster-resilient urban-planning and community-building strategies to minimize human and material loss. Yet national and local task…

Integrated and Systemic Risks

Seda Kundak

Prof., Dr., Istanbul Technical University, Department of Urban and Regional Planning

An earthquake registering Mw 7.7 struck Kahramanmaraş’s Pazarcık district at 4:17 a.m. local time on Monday, 6 February 2023. This was followed by numerous aftershocks and a second devestating earthquake registering Mw 7.6, struck the same province’s district of Elbistan nine hours later at 1:24 p.m. Then, a mere two weeks later on 20 February,…

2023: The Year of the Wildfire in Türkiye and the Wider World

Kadir Alperen Coşkuner

Assoc. Prof., Dr., Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty Member

Wildfires have caused serious ecological, economic, and social repercussions throughout the world in the last decade or so. As such, 2023 became known as the year that harrowing disasters wrought widespread destruction unto various regions of the earth. Canada experienced the most devastating wildfires since her founding, in which 18.5 million hectares (5.1% of the…

International Migration in 2023 and its Reverberations in Türkiye

Fulya Memişoğlu Zaimoğlu

Assoc. Prof. Dr., Yıldız Technical University, Political Science and International Relations

International migration has had a profound impact on Türkiye over the last decade. Regional conflicts, foremost among which being the Syrian Civil War, and widespread instability have triggered numerous waves of forced migration into Türkiye. In addition to economic growth, the various work, investment, and education opportunities offered by Türkiye have attracted many more to…

Public Health in Türkiye – 2023

Mahmut Talha Uçar

Research Assist. MD, University of Health Sciences Türkiye, Hamidiye Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health

Esra Çiçek

MD, Konya Provincial Health Directorate

Yasemin Denizli

PhD Student, University of Health Sciences Türkiye, Hamidiye Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Public Health

Mustafa Öztürk

Prof. Dr., University of Health Sciences Türkiye, Hamidiye Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health

Türkiye experienced several watershed events in public health in 2023, some yielding positive and others negative outcomes. The earthquakes that struck on 6 February 2023, centered in Kahramanmaraş’s Pazarcık and Elbistan districts, respectively, rattled ten other surrounding provinces, leading to what would become dubbed the disaster of the century. These two earthquakes left an excess…

Social Policies in Türkiye in 2023

Emrah Akbaş

Prof. Dr., Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Department of Social Work

The events of 2023 highlighted the need for Türkiye to prioritize disaster-, migration-, and family-related issues in its social policies. While social policies in Türkiye have historically centered on child welfare, education, and health, it has become increasingly evident as we approach the country’s centennial anniversary that disaster and migration issues must be at the…

Global International Aid: Türkiye in 2023

Yunus Turhan

Assoc. Prof. Dr., Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, Department of International Relations

While 2023 was initially welcomed in Türkiye with jubilation for her centennial anniversary, the year quickly witnessed a dramatic reshuffling of geopolitical dynamics and international power balances that would precipitate numerous crises around the world. Yet it was in this tempestuous environment that Türkiye’s geostrategic location and foreign policy would demonstrate just how important of…

Post-Disaster Volunteer Work: An In-Depth Review of 2023

Adem Başpınar

Assoc. Prof. Dr., Kırklareli University, Department of Sociology

Merve Güntürkün

Kırklareli University, Department of Sociology

Volunteer efforts are given the most airtime immediately following a disaster. This heightened attention, along with compelling images of human suffering, drives a surge in individuals volunteering their own services to help their fellow man. Communities in disaster-stricken areas are particularly vulnerable and require urgent assistance. This acute need sparks a powerful sense of responsibility…

A Year in the Shadow of Crises

Mehmet Emin Birpınar

Prof. Dr., Environment, Urbanism, and Climate Change Deputy Minister Chief Climate Change Negotiator

As humanity, we have left another challenging year behind us. The COVID-19 pandemic, which started at the end of 2019 and is still ongoing, along with the tension between Russia and Ukraine, has resulted in our world facing disruptions in the food and energy supply chain while also experiencing economic stagnation that has affected many…