Introduction

The February earthquakes caused both physical destruction to northwest Syria’s financial infrastructure, and upended financial mechanisms which had connected the region to Turkey in recent years. Increasingly reliant on systems in Turkey, the emergency in Syria necessitated quick decision-making and mobilization across different support systems, as well as access to large amounts of cash to meet immediate needs. However effective mobilization of support was hindered by administrative procedures of local authorities, financial institutions, and the aid sector itself, leading to bottlenecks and delays in getting cash and services to impacted localities across the northwest.

This fourth report in the Northwest Syria Series from Crisis Analysis – Syria (CA–SYR, previously HAT) aims to better understand the earthquake’s impacts on financial mechanisms in northwest Syria, and the implications of these delays on humanitarian needs. The research aims to identify the main barriers to accessing cash in northwest Syria following the earthquakes, and how different actors adapted to changing needs.

Building on past research by CA–SYR on financial systems in the northwest, this research is informed by a short round of field research with informal money transfer (hawala) operators, beneficiaries of cash assistance, and employees from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across four locations in Idleb and northern Aleppo. Information was also gathered from four key informant interviews (KIIs) with aid actors across northwest Syria.

Key findings

• A surge in demand for cash and foreign currencies, alongside parallel devaluation of the Turkish lira (TRY) contributed to liquidity challenges in the days and weeks following the earthquake. These challenges made it difficult for NGOs to quickly mobilize cash to beneficiaries and staff, and made it difficult for residents to access their savings, remittance support, and other forms of emergency finances. Many of these difficulties have remained in recent months, although less acutely.

• Organizations with pre-existing agreements with local financing actors (hawalas and Turkish post offices (PTT)) were able to more efficiently navigate cash-flow difficulties, while accessing cash was more difficult for organizations or individuals who lacked these arrangements.

• These dynamics have sparked interest among aid organizations to further institutionalize their financial operations in northwest Syria following the earthquake in ways that could improve emergency preparedness in the future.