The ongoing refugee crisis continues be significant for the international community, and Turkey is hosting 2.2 million Syrian refugees, while spending $7.6 billion on them according to government officials. The head of the European Union delegation to Turkey, Hansjörg Haber, and Mehmet Güllüoğlu, director general of the Turkish Red Crescent, along with several other EU officials and Turkish government officials will visit the southeastern provinces of Şanlıurfa, Osmaniye and Gaziantep on Monday and Tuesday. The officials will visit all of the EU-funded projects in the three provinces. The projects aim to ensure that the educational and food needs of Syrian refugees residing in Turkey are met. Haber commented on ongoing and future projects of the EU, saying that they "give a good example of our solidarity and determination to support Turkey in the remarkable effort it has made during the crisis."
The delegation also includes Arlette Conzemius, the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU, the UNICEF representative in Turkey, Philippe Duamelle, Jean-Yves Lequime, the World Food Program (WFP) representative in Turkey, Dr. Murtaza Yetiş from the prime minister's office and Yusuf Büyük, the deputy undersecretary of the Ministry of National Education. As part of the visit on Monday, the delegation plans to visit the Girls Safe Space Center and a temporary education center in Şanlıurfa. They will also visit the Osmaniye Cevdetiye Camp, Child Friendly Space and camp library facilities funded by the EU. The visits will continue on Tuesday with the delegation meeting the governor of Gaziantep, Ali Yerlikaya, and the mayor of Gaziantep, Fatma Şahin.
The EU-funded projects aim to fulfill the educational and food needs of Syrian refugees. Two contracts, worth 17.5 million euros together, were signed in September 2015 with UNICEF and the World Food Program, respectively. The first project is worth 12.5 million euros and seeks to improve access to quality education and psychosocial support for Syrian children living in Turkey. Additionally, 3,700 Syrian and Turkish volunteer teachers receive training and monetary incentives to improve the teaching of Arabic. The second project is worth 5 million euros and allows 41,000 Syrians residing in the three camps to receive monthly electronic food vouchers through the WFP and Turkish Red Crescent and is complemented by EU humanitarian assistance that helps limit disruptions of aid delivery.
