Children in crisis expert: Impact of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria on children

Lucy Bassett, Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, is available to provide commentary on the earthquake in Turkey and Syria and implications for young children.

As co-director of the Humanitarian Collaborative, an initiative focused on research and advisory support to improve humanitarian response, Bassett leads work on children in crisis. She knows how children are uniquely affected in emergency situations, with short- and long-term consequences.

“Children in Syria now face a compounding crisis,” Bassett says. “After decades of civil war and a spiraling economic crisis, families were already struggling to feed their children, keep them warm during the bitter winter, and ensure they could access health and education. After the February 6th earthquake and its powerful aftershocks, thousands of children were injured and traumatized. Some are still stuck under rubble, and many are cold, separated from their caregivers, and have lost their homes.”

“In this situation, children not only need resources to meet their basic needs,” Bassett explains. “They also need support to overcome the trauma they have experienced, services that help resume normalcy and a sense of safety, and opportunities to continue to learn and play. Caregivers need mental health support and ways to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.”

Living in Mexico City where she has experienced earthquakes with her own young children, Bassett brings lived personal experience with the topic, too. She is available to discuss consequences of the Turkey/Syria earthquake on children and families and recommendations for improving response.