The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay), which coordinates a food voucher program for Syrian refugees in tent camps, plans to expand it to those not living in the camps, its director said on Thursday.

Some 250,000 Syrians in camps across Turkey's border with Syria currently benefit from electronic vouchers. Kızılay Chairman Ahmet Lütfi Akar said they cooperated with the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) to introduce electronic vouchers to about 1.7 million displaced Syrians and Iraqis who had to reside outside the camps. "These people are guests of Turkey and we plan to give them vouchers as well. A project is underway to do so," Akar stated.

The WEP had reduced the number of Syrians benefiting from the vouchers due to a shortage of funding supplied by U.N. members in February, four years after the program started. In turn, WFP officials handed the project in nine camps to the government and asked for a monthly sum of $9 million from international donors to continue providing aid to each recipient in the camps.

Akar said the Red Crescent Food Card functions as a credit card, and credits were regularly added to enable the recipient to shop for food at any grocery store. "It is especially significant in helping these people keep their dignity. They can shop anywhere [instead of waiting in line to receive food aid]," he said, adding that Kızılay also plans to distribute the vouchers in the aftermath of a disaster and reduce the reliance on food distribution. "For instance, [the cards] can be used in an earthquake-stricken city. People can shop for food from stores in undamaged parts of the city. This way, it would also help businesses to recover losses after a disaster," he said.

Turkey is the primary host for Syrians displaced by four years of civil war. The country has provided Syrian citizens with tent camps and state-of-the-art "container cities," which were praised by the international community for their exemplary conditions. Yet, the government has struggled to look after others who are unable or unwilling to stay in the crowded camps with limited resources and little aid from other countries. While those with a relatively good income start new lives in cities by setting up businesses and buying or renting apartments, most Syrians displaced by the conflict are from low-income families. They live in squalid conditions in abandoned buildings and parks while working long hours in low-paying jobs without any form of social security.