The scale of destruction from the 2023 Türkiye earthquakes substantially increased health needs for the affected population, requiring a wide-ranging response from the Government of Türkiye and its partners. This NCD Operational Review, conducted by WHO and Türkiye's Ministry of Health, focuses on the response to noncommunicable diseases, which were a significant cause of morbidity and mortality prior to the emergency. The review aims to identify good practice, lessons learned and suggest actions to address NCD challenges in response efforts, while also contributing to system strengthening and resilience for future emergencies. Türkiye’s comprehensive package of health services, including chronic NCD management, and support programme for refugees, was critical to resilience. Further success factors included integrating NCD management throughout preparedness, response and recovery; well developed preparedness planning; the inclusion of NCDs in rapid assessments; contingency planning and rapid capacity-building to deliver primary care services and maintain access to essential medicines; and coordinated evacuation of patients for specialist care where required. Further work is planned to continue to strengthen health information systems, community engagement approaches, and to develop and share new guidance and tools. This review, alongside other recent NCD-focused operational reviews, provides critical lessons for the response to NCDs in emergencies.
Authors
Mentioned Organizations
- Citation
- World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe . (2025). WHO Operational Review of Türkiye's approach to noncommunicable diseases during the emergency response to the 2023 earthquakes. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/380054 . License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
- Pages
- 35
- Published in
- Switzerland
- Rights
- CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
- Rights Holder
- World Health Organization
- Rights URI
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo
