International cooperation and projects: In the framework of the global initiative to respond to the Syrian humanitarian crisis, which emerged as an international problem, Turkey aimed to act by establishing high level of cooperation and coordination with international organisations. However, expected level of contribution were not received from the international community and/or from other countries. Turkey’s expenditures only for Syrians under temporary protection out of its own resources have exceeded 37 billion USD to date. An agreement was reached in March 2016 with the European Union (EU) to provide financial support to the migrant movement and to share responsibility. With this agreement, EU pledged to provide an aid of 3+3 billion EUR for Syrians in our country. Under the first tranche of 3 billion EUR, 72 projects were undertaken. Project development and implementation efforts are underway under the second tranche of 3 billion EUR marked for the second phase. This resource under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRIT), is used via UN agencies and international financial institutions as well as direct grants to our relevant institutions. Under projects, activities were undertaken including humanitarian aid programme, conditional cash transfer for education, development of school, hospital and municipal infrastructure in cities with high refugee populations, and training programmes to increase their employability, integrating Syrian children into the Turkish education system and providing healthcare services to Syrians. Some of these projects are designed in way that the host community may also benefit, aiming to serve the needs of Turkish citizens who have similar problems as refugees. Humanitarian and social assistance for persons under temporary and international protection: Assistance activities for persons under temporary protection are managed through the Integrated Social Assistance Information System, which enables all social assistance provided by the state in Turkey to be managed and monitored from a single centre, and payment lists for Syrians are generated from this system. The Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) Programme, launched in 2016 to meet the basic needs of the people under temporary and international protection in our country, 13 This resource is used in cooperation with the General Directorate of Social Assistance of MoFLSS, World Food Program (WFP), Turkish Red Crescent and European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Operations (ECHO). 14 KIZILAYKART was first used for Turkish citizens in 2011. 15 Minimum wage is 373 USD (1 USD=5.49 TL) in Turkey. is financed with 1 billion EUR allocated in the first phase of FRIT. Families in need who are under temporary and international protection may benefit from ESSN13 Programme. Programme beneficiaries are identified through the extent of vulnerability and demographic criteria such as household size, woman living alone, single parent family, old age, disability. A KIZILAYKART14 is issued to every family eligible for the assistance. 120 TL (22 USD)15 is loaded on the card monthly per registered person in the family who may use it to meet their own needs such as rent, foodor withdraw cash. Given the fact that Syrians have large families, this amount of assistance provided per capita, reaches a significant sum. Additional contributions are provided to small families who cannot benefit from economies of scale and to families having persons with disabilities in need of care. Additional monthly assistance of 600 TL (109 USD) is provided to approximately 6,000 beneficiaries with severe disabilities. As of the beginning of 2019, a total of 3.2 billion TL (533 million USD) cash assistance was provided to approximately 1.5 million people in need under ESSN Programme. It was observed that food insecurity, indebtedness and utilization of negative coping strategies were reduced among ESSN beneficiaries. Another assistance programme for refugees under temporary and international protection is the Food Card Project being implemented to meet the nutrition needs of refugees living in TACs. Through Food Cards containing a monthly allowance of 100 TL (18.2 USD) per person, families may meet such basic needs as food, cleaning products from grocery stores in TACs. Approximately 91,000 TAC residents currently benefit from this programme. It is observed that 91% of families living in TACs have acceptable food consumption through the programme. Access to education by refugees under temporary protection: It is a matter of major importance for Turkey that Syrian children access to education and attend school, realise their potential, develop skills, adapt to the country and contribute to the development of their country when they return, so that a whole generation would not be lost. 45 TURKEY’s 2nd VNR 2019 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS “Strong Ground towards Common Goals”
The number of Syrian children under temporary protection in Turkey is approximately 1.6 million. About 700,000 of these children are under 6 years of age and 1.1 million are at school age (5-17). By our laws, all children living in Turkey, including those who are not Turkish citizens, have the right to access basic education free of charge. Temporary Education Centres (TECs) were established to meet educational needs of Syrian children in Turkey to ensure that they learn Turkish upon arrival or soon after, and because school capacities in locations where they lived were inadequate. At the initial phase, intensive Turkish language courses are provided in TECs where volunteer Syrian trainers also work. Syrian children, whose integration is thus supported, are gradually transferred to public schools under the Ministry of National Education (MoNE). Currently 222,000 students are educated in TECs and the remaining 388,000 students are educated in MoNE schools. Approximately 13,000 volunteer Syrian trainers are employed in TECs and receive financial support on monthly basis. Turkish trainers, psychological guides and counsellors also work in TECs. A separate curriculum and textbooks were created for TECs. In addition, an Information System for Foreign Students (YÖBIS) was created to monitor the registration, achievement and absence of Syrian students under temporary protection. The schooling rates of Syrian students vary according to their education levels. School dropouts increase as the level of education increases. Schooling rates are close to 100% in primary level, but fall to 50% in secondary schools and to 24% in high schools. The Conditional Education Assistance (CEA) programme implemented to ensure the attendance of the children and girls of poor families in our country was expanded to include students under temporary protection and students of foreign nationality. As of March 2017, the families of approximately 500,000 children are supported under the programme. Beneficiaries are entitled to CEA payment varying from 35 to 60 TL (6.5 to 11 USD) per month per child depending on the educational level, provided that the subject student not be absent from school more than 4 days a month. In addition, an additional payment of 100 TL (18.2 USD) per beneficiary is made at January and September. Migrant children registered in our country may benefit from regular healthcare, education and social protection services provided to all children in addition to those offered specifically to them. Although at limited scale, other practices are ongoing such as providing early childhood development education to Syrian children and mothers at household level through home-based education, providing pre-school education to Syrian children through summer day-care centres to ensure their integration into the education system in Turkey. The language problem poses a major barrier for the integration of Syrians under temporary protection and for other foreigners into education and to their participation in social life. To alleviate this problem, programmes for teaching Turkish are implemented for foreigners at different age levels. Students aged 6 to 12 and 13 to 17 may benefit from Turkish courses provided by the PECs through teaching modules designed in line with their level. Access to healthcare services by refugees under temporary protection: Meeting healthcare needs of the Syrian population is a top priority of the migration policy. Syrians who are registered and hold a temporary ID number in Turkey may receive all healthcare services including emergency, preventive, primary, and therapeutic services free of charge. And those without a temporary ID number are provided with services for communicable disease control, immunisation, and emergency healthcare. Syrians may directly go to the healthcare facilities operated by the Ministry of Health. Migrant Health Centres (MHCs) are established in areas with large Syrian refugee populations to provide them with healthcare services more effectively and efficiently, and overcome problems arising from language and cultural barriers. There are 688 migrant health units currently in service opened in 178 MHCs located in 29 provinces. Foreign National Outpatient Clinics (FNOC) are opened to provide primary healthcare services in such areas with large refugee populations in case an MHC has not been opened. It is planned to open at least one FNOC in each province, and there are 88 outpatient clinics currently in service in 70 provinces. The Project for Improving Health Status of Syrian Refugees Under Temporary Protection in Turkey and Relevant Services Provided by the Republic of Turkey (SIHHAT) is implemented to improve and support primary and secondary healthcare ~1.66 MILLION ~600,000 ~1.05 MILLION NUMBER OF SYRIAN CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 6 IN THE AGE OF EDUCATION (5-17) 46 TURKEY’s 2nd VNR 2019 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS “Strong Ground towards Common Goals”
services currently provided by the Ministry of Health for Syrians under temporary protection. The project aims at expanding the scope of healthcare services and improving the capacity and quality of delivery of these services in 28 provinces with large Syrian populations. The Project for Improving the Delivery of Home Healthcare, Care and Social Services to Syrian Refugees16 supports home healthcare services delivered to elder Syrians and Syrians with disabilities in 7 provinces with the support of the Migrant Health Training Centres. Under the project, 300 people most of whom were Syrian women, received theoretical and practical training, and successful candidates were employed for 19 months. Also, healthcare personnel working in MHCs were trained on home healthcare services provided in our country, and such centres were supported logistically. Services targeting migrant groups at risk17 (women’s health, adolescent health, education on violence based on gender, etc.) are provided in Women’s Healthcare Consultation Centres within MHCs or operating stand-alone. There are currently 34 Women’s Healthcare Consultation Centres18 in MHCs. Under the project, 382,469 persons received services in women’s health and reproductive health including safe motherhood, prenatal and postnatal care, sexually transmitted infections, healthcare and nutrition education. During the same period, 392,930 individuals were provided awareness training on combating gender-based violence and psychosocial support. Social integration of refugees under temporary protection: Child friendly zones are established to provide children of different age groups under temporary protection living in and outside camps with psychosocial support and enable their access to participatory and inclusive education and formative activities and environments. In such zones, children receive education and participate in recreational and cultural activities. A “Social Adaptation Programme” is implemented to help Syrian children who live outside the camps adapt to the society and build a platform that will facilitate dialogue and information exchange between Turkish and Syrian children. To date, 51,000 children have benefited from the programme. 16 Implemented with technical assistance from the World Health Organization. 17 Implemented under the “Memorandum of Understanding” signed with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on 16.12.2016 and valid through 31.12.2020. 18 Of these centres, 25 are financed by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), 4 by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and 5 by the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey through the agency of UNHCR. 19 Implemented in cooperation with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Through the “Support to Social Service Centres Project”19 under Protective and Preventive Services which will be scaled up in the upcoming years, psycho-social support is provided to Syrians to help them live on their own. International organisations, the government, and local governments work in collaboration to empower Syrian women. For instance, SADA Women Development and Solidarity Centre was established in Gaziantep in 2017 which holistically combined livelihoods, protection and social inclusion specific to women. The centre provides vocational counselling, psychosocial support, language and vocational training. Employment of refugees under temporary protection: Syrians living in our country under temporary protection have been granted the right to participate in the labour force. However, it is known that the majority of this population work informally, avoiding registered work with the fear of losing their benefits as most of them are registered in the social assistance system. Therefore, only around 68 thousands Syrians Under Temporary Protection have obtained work permits to date. The number of Syrians benefiting from ESSN reached nearly 1.6 million. Policies are being developed in this context to integrate Syrians who benefit from social aid programmes into the labour force. It was announced that the second phase of FRIT would finance those projects which would facilitate the transition of Syrian population who benefits from ESSN to labour force. A fund of 465 million EUR was allocated for this purpose in the context of socio-economic support. While children and young people constitute the majority of ESSN beneficiaries, only 460,000 of them are in the 18 – 59 age group. Creating employment opportunities for both the Syrian and growing Turkish population will be critical for Turkey’s sustainable development. Our key priorities for the future is to encourage Syrians under temporary protection in our country to integrate into social and economic life and promote their registered work with a view to replacing the short-term humanitarian and subsistence aid 47 TURKEY’s 2nd VNR 2019 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS “Strong Ground towards Common Goals”