The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has devised a project to enhance disabled refugees’ access to protection services, in collaboration with the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (SGDD-ASAM) in Turkey with financial support from the European Union, a statement by the UNFPA said.
"Increasing Access of Refugees with Disabilities to Protection Services in Turkey Project" implemented by UNFPA aims to solve the problems faced by disabled refugees living in the country.
"In scope of the project, refugees and migrants living with disabilities, as well as their support persons are provided with protection services including consultations, information, psycho-social support, gender-based violence prevention and response services, as well as referral and support in accessing other services through two service units in Ankara and Izmir," a statement by the UNFPA said.
The Health Ministry, municipalities and other local service units are also participating in the project, the statement added.
According to research conducted in 2017 by the U.N. Organization for Migration (IOM), one in every 10 refugee households has a disabled member, making up about 12.4% of the population. Another study carried out last year by the UNFPA, TESEV and KONDA in Izmir and Ankara also revealed that anxiety and depression are common among refugees with disabilities.
"Half of them need surgery and specific medication, and one third need prosthetics and orthopedic devices. However, more than half of the refugees with disabilities who participated in the survey reported difficulties in accessing health care services due to the transportation challenges, financial hardships and language barrier," the UNFPA said.
Since 2011 when the conflict in Syria triggered the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II, Turkey has received a constant flow of displaced Syrians fleeing the conflict, with their numbers having expanded from thousands to millions. Currently, Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees with over 3.5 million Syrian refugees and many others from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Somalia. Ten cities host some 2.8 million refugees, while others are scattered around the country. Nearly 1.6 million of the Syrian refugee population in Turkey are children and nearly 300,000 Syrians have been born in Turkey since 2011.
Although Syrians under Turkey’s temporary protection can use health care services free of charge, unregistered Syrians – around 10% of the local Syrian population – are not considered protected.
With the aim of meeting the needs of refugees, the country has spent more than $32 billion (TL 260.35 billion) of its own national resources. With no end in sight for the war, pushing refugees to ponder staying longer than anticipated, Turkey has been exerting efforts to promote the socio-economic integration of refugees within the country.