November 02, 2016•Update: November 04, 2016
By Ilkay Guder and Enes Duran
ANKARA
At least 170,000 Syrian babies have been born in Turkey since refugees started coming into the country from Syria, a Turkish aid agency said Wednesday.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said it also provided special meal options to pregnant or breastfeeding refugee females at maternity and child healthcare facilities across the country.
Turkey is hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees in the world, around 3 million and has so far spent more than $12 billion on the refugees. Help from the international community has so far amounted to around $512 million, the AFAD said.
The AFAD also sent around 1.63 billion Turkish liras ($520 million) worth of humanitarian aid to Syria since the war began, the agency said.
At least 82,000 Syrian children were admitted to schools at resettlement centers, it said. Also, cooperation between Turkey’s Education Ministry and the AFAD ensured that 310,000 children of kindergarten and high school ages were taken off the streets and admitted to schools, it added.
Also, at least 115,000 Syrian adults gained employable skills after going through various certificate programs organized at AFAD centers.
The AFAD also said several women also took part in mukhtar (local head) elections and participated in the management of refugee camps.
The AFAD staff also raised awareness among refugees about early marriages and polygamy.
According to the authority, at least 400,000 people, including civilians lost their lives in Syria since the conflict began.
At least 13.5 million people in the 20 million-strong country are in need of humanitarian aid. While 6.1 million people have displaced, around 4.8 million fled to neighboring countries.
Turkey’s AFAD has 26 settlement centers across Turkey and offers help to physical, social and psychological needs of refugees.
According to the UN’s Refugee Agency, Turkey hosts the largest population of refugees in the world. Also, UNICEF said the country was hosting the largest number of child refugees in the world.
