The European Commission is mobilising €663 million in humanitarian aid for refugees in Turkey, the institution announced on Thursday 31 October.
The largest part of this envelope, €600 million, will be used to continue the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programme, the largest humanitarian programme ever deployed by the EU.
Launched in 2016, the ESSN enables the most vulnerable refugees to provide for their day-to-day needs (accommodation, food, medicines, education of children) through debit cards loaded with cash transfers (€30 per month per person). With these cards, refugees can purchase supplies from the local market or withdraw cash.
€63 million will continue to support projects in the fields of education and basic services. This assistance will enable more than half a million refugee children to attend school regularly and help some 20,000 out-of-school children catch up. Access to health care and protective services will also be maintained.
“Thanks to EU support, more than 1.6 million refugees can meet their basic needs and more than half a million refugee children are going to school. These results speak for themselves”, says Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, in a statement.
This assistance is funded by the Refugee Facility in Turkey. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)