The EU will provide €50m to support vulnerable Turkish refugees and their host communities, to go towards specialised healthcare services and help to address issues including legal counselling, psychosocial support and access to civil documentation.
This humanitarian aid is provided in addition to the EU’s Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN), which currently supports over 1.5 million people in Turkey though cash assistance. The ESSN helps them pay for the things they need most, such as rent, transportation, food, or medicine.
EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said that whilst the world’s eyes are on Ukraine, the refugees in Turkey, many of whom have been displaced for over a decade now, will not be forgotten.
“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 to fill the gaps and offer a lifeline to those most in need.”
The cost of living and lack of access to regular income make it difficult for vulnerable families to make ends meet. Turkey has made commendable efforts to provide them with access to basic services, including education and health care, but many face deepening debt and poverty due to the secondary impacts of Covid and the depreciation of the Turkish Lira.
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