UN to focus on refugee education, healthcare in Turkey

By Yeter Erdine

GAZIANTEP, Turkey

The UN focus on meeting the educational and healthcare needs of refugees living in Turkey will continue, the global body’s resident coordinator told Anadolu Agency in southeastern Gaziantep province Thursday.

Irena Vojackova-Sollorano, who is also permanent UNDP resident representative to Turkey, said: “In some areas, we are very strong, in some areas, Turkey is stronger than us … We are very much focusing on education and healthcare.”

Vojackova-Sollorano also opened a new center in the province, which aims to empower refugee women in Turkey by giving them language skills and vocational education.

Turkey hosts around 1.5 million female refugees, according to the official, while there are around 30 million female refugees in the world.

The country is home to nearly three million Syrians, according to the Directorate General of Migration Management.

This number accounts for around 45 percent of all Syrian refugees in the region, according to the UN.

Ankara has spent more than €20 billion ($23.25 billion) from its own national resources for helping and sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.