EU Allocates €50 Million Humanitarian Aid to Support Refugees in Turkey
In a statement issued yesterday, June 14, the EU Commission stressed that this humanitarian assistance would go to specialized health care services and, at the same time, will help address protection issues, including legal counselling, psychosocial support, and access to civil documentation, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
In this regard, the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, said that although everyone has their eyes on the war in Ukraine, the refugees in Turkey should also not be forgotten, many of whom have been displaced for more than a decade now.
“The most vulnerable among them have been especially hard hit by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the worsening of their economic situation. The EU will continue to provide humanitarian aid to refugees in Turkey and offer a lifeline to those most in need,” he also pointed out.
According to the EU Commission, Turkey has made great efforts to provide all those families with access to basic services, including education and health care. However, many of them are still facing deepening debt and poverty due to the impacts of COVID-19 and the devaluation of the Turkish lira.
“Turkey currently hosts four million refugees. Over 3.7 million of them are Syrians who fled the ongoing conflict that has been ravaging their country for over 11 years,” the statement reads.
Many families have also depleted their resources after years of displacement simply because of the protracted nature of the Syrian crisis.
Meanwhile, through many humanitarian projects, the EU, in close cooperation with the Turkish authorities, has helped the most vulnerable people. This new €50 million funding is also part of the €3 billion packages announced by the European Commission in June 2021 to support refugees in Turkey until 2024.
Moreover, this humanitarian assistance comes as an addition to the €325 million humanitarian aid already announced in December 2021 for the Emergency Social Security Network program in Turkey, which brings the total EU humanitarian fund to Turkey since 2012 close to €3.34 billion.
The EU Commission also highlighted that, thanks to EU humanitarian funding, a partnership between the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the Turkish Red Crescent Society, and Turkish government institutions, over 1.5 million refugees living in Turkey receive humanitarian assistance through cash aid.
In addition, another 331,000 vulnerable people receive cash assistance from the development part of the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey.
