ISTANBUL 

The International Pediatric Association (IPA) on Monday announced it would give its International Peace Award to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for helping refugee children.

The award was announced after association officials visited refugee camps in Turkey.

Kerem Hasanoglu, head of the association's external relations department, said the IPA management decided to give the award to Erdogan for his contributions to the lives of refugee children.

“Because Turkey offered a helping hand to more than 1.5 million children and did not let them die at a time when several countries remained indifferent.

"Turkey, under the leadership of Erdogan, has helped these innocent babies cling to life while many countries in the world just ignored this situation,” Hasanoglu said.

Reporting by Hanife Sevinc:Writing by Sibel Ugurlu