‘Refugee mothers, babies get free healthcare in Turkey’

GENEVA

Turkey bears a heavy burden in a "fragile region of the world" by hosting more than 4 million refugees and providing free health services to refugee mothers and babies, the first lady said in Switzerland on Monday.

Emine Erdogan was the keynote speaker at a forum titled Time for Action: Adopting a Proactive Approach to Prevent Maternal and Infant Mortality at Birth.

The panel was held as part of the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva to build on decades of work for refugees.

"We need to work to ensure that everyone shares one common denominator so we can give the best to the world in life," said Erdogan.

"Our country is the country that has the second-fastest decrease in infant and child mortality in the last 30 years," she said, adding that the record includes refugees.

"According to a survey conducted in 2018, the number of Syrian infant deaths was 42 per thousand for 2003-2008, and this number decreased to 22 per thousand in 2013-2018," said Erdogan.

"All services we provide to our citizens for mother and baby health are also given to refugees equally and free of charge," she underscored.

Erdogan spoke of the great efforts made for the lives of more than 100,000 Syrian babies that are born each year in Turkey.

Looking to safeguards for the future, Erdogan voiced a goal: "If we can replace the fighter jets with children's kites in the sky, we can make the best of life."

At the end of her speech, Erdogan wished "the world will know peace" as soon as possible and the hope that the three-day Global Refugee Forum would be an instrument for good.

Among the participants of the panel were Jordanian Princess Sarah Zeid, Uganda’s Minister of State for Primary Health Care Joyce Moriku Kaducu, Nansen Refugee Award-winning South Sudanese Refugee Surgeon Evan Atar Adaha, and International Rescue Commission Vice President Alyoscia D'Onofrio.

Separately, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said Hollywood stars Cate Blanchett and Ben Stiller as well as world business leaders are among those in its campaign for solidarity with refugees.