The Emergency Social Safety Net, the EU’s largest humanitarian programme, has now assisted 1.5 million vulnerable refugees in Turkey.
The programme, which was established in 2016 and is implemented by the World Food Programme and the Turkish Red Crescent, provides refugees in Turkey with monthly cash transfers of up to €20 per person to help them pay for food, healthcare and housing. Under the Emergency Social Safety Net, which represents the largest single humanitarian project in the EU’s history, refugees are also given quarterly top-ups to meet their basic needs.
The Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, which builds on the Emergency Social Safety Net and aims to provide funding and support for vulnerable child refugees in Turkey entering education and their families, has already exceeded its initial targets and now supports the families of more than 410,000 child refugees in school. The programme helps children through the process of registering for and attending school, as well as providing cash assistance to their parents where necessary.
The Emergency Social Safety Net will continue into 2019 with projected funding of €640 million, €80 million of which will be set aside for education in emergencies. Funding is provided by the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey, which was first set up in 2015 to provide humanitarian and non-humanitarian aid to refugees in Turkey; the Facility has a total budget of €3 billion for the 2018-2019 period.
In addition to administering the Emergency Social Safety Net and providing wider socioeconomic support, the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey provides vulnerable refugees with help and support in education, health and migration management. Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, said: “1.5 million refugees in Turkey are now able to meet their basic needs and live in dignity. The European Union, in cooperation with Turkey, is bringing a real change in the lives of the most vulnerable refugees. I am very proud of what we have achieved together. Jointly with Turkey we will continue this support, focusing on making our assistance sustainable.”
