While international search and rescue teams with heavy lifting equipment arrive in Turkey, the single land route for aid into Syria has been disrupted.
The need for support in Turkey is huge – but so too are the needs in north-west Syria.
Before the earthquake even struck, 4.1 million people – most of them women and children – relied on humanitarian aid.
Delivering it requires permission from the Syrian government in Damascus or the United Nations Security Council, where Russia has successfully objected to multiple land crossings.
The UN fears vital supplies to areas held by the opposition may be delayed. Today aid agencies said politics must not get in the way of saving lives.
After an earthquake there is a seven day window to rescue people from the rubble. Two of those days have already gone by.
