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EU extends humanitarian support for refugees in Turkey

24 December 2020

The European Commission has extended two humanitarian flagship programmes in Turkey until early 2022. These programmes help over 1.8 million refugees meet their basic needs and will help over 700,000 children to continue their education.

“The humanitarian needs of refugees in Turkey persist and are even further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The EU is fully committed to support those in need, as we have done for the past years. I am glad that our flagship programmes help thousands of refugee families have some normality in their daily lives. This is a true demonstration of European solidarity,” said Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič.

The programmes that were extended until early 2022 are:

• The Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) is providing over 1.8 million refugees with monthly cash assistance to meet their basic needs. This is the largest EU funded humanitarian programme ever. It is implemented by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent.
• Conditional Cash Transfers for Education (CCTE), the largest EU-funded humanitarian education programme, providing support to families whose children attend school regularly. It helps over 620,000 refugee children continue their education and will support 700,000 in 2021. The programme is implemented by UNICEF in partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent.

SOURCE: DEVELOPMENT AID