Cooperation on Humanitarian Issues is a newly established area of work of the OTS.

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) has actively fostered cooperation in humanitarian aid, disaster management, and emergency response among its member and observer states. The 1st Meeting of the Heads of the OTS Red Crescent Societies was held online on 21 April 2021, focusing on pandemic-related challenges, capacity-building, experience-sharing, and enhancing joint humanitarian response efforts.

Humanitarian and COVID-19 Response

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, OTS held an Extraordinary Summit on 10 April 2020 under the theme of "Solidarity and Cooperation in the Fight Against COVID-19". As part of its vaccine donation initiative, 611,200 doses of Sinovac vaccine were delivered to Burkina Faso and Togo on 6 December 2021. 

Disaster and Emergency Management

• The inagural OTS Disaster and Emergency Management Ministerial Meeting took place on 21 December 2022 in Ankara, hosted by Türkiye. Ministers and officials from OTS Member and Observer States discussed strategies for cooperation in disaster management, leading to the adoption of a Road Map for the Civil Protection Mechanism of the OTS.
• The Second Ministerial Meeting on Emergency Management convened on 7 September 2023 in Baku, reaffirming the importance of joint disaster response efforts. The meeting resulted in the Declaration of the Second Ministerial Meeting on Emergency Management, and participants attended the “Baku-2023 International Exercise”, demonstrating collaborative disaster and emergency response operations.
• During the 11th OTS Summit in Bishkek in November 2024, the Agreement on the Establishment of the Civil Protection Mechanism of the OTS was officially signed, marking a significant step toward institutionalized cooperation in disaster and emergency management.

Turkic Red Network

Recently in October 2024 in Bishkek, the heads of the Red Crescent and Red Cross societies from Organization of Turkic States (OTS) member countries—Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan—signed a memorandum to establish the Turkic Red Network, aiming to enhance cooperation, solidarity, and coordination among member nations. The memorandum was ratified at the 11th Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States held in November 2024 in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Turkic Red Network seeks to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian operations and bolster the sharing of knowledge and expertise. The secretariat will be based in Türkiye, under the leadership of Türk Kızılay, one of the world's largest humanitarian organizations.