Turkey - As part of IOM’s ongoing work with the Government of Turkey to support Syrians who have fled into Turkey due to the conflict, IOM is providing transport, sanitation and other services to thousands of Syrians living in refugee camps.

Between July and November 2013, IOM, working with the government’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), has now provided transport to more than 12,000 Syrians in Adiyaman camp. The transport allows them to access medical facilities in Adiyaman and other Turkish cities.

Adiyaman camp, located 400km from the Syrian border, is home to some 10,000 Syrian refugees and is one of 21 camps across South East Turkey now housing more than 200,000 Syrians.

The majority of people making use of IOM’s service have been referred to the public hospital in Adiyaman for x-rays, blood tests, operations or any other specialized treatment currently unavailable in camp clinics.  Other refugees are transferred to neighboring cities for treatment, if the services are not available in Adiyaman.

Some 70 per cent of people using the service have been hospital referrals and their families. The other 30 per cent made use of the service to buy essential supplies in the town, which is located some 40 km from the camp.

Ali Ahmed, who has been living in the camp for nearly a year with his wife and three children, says that without the service he could not afford to travel to town to buy the items that they need. He gets to use the service once every three weeks.

Since May 2012, IOM has helped Turkey to assist more than 106,600 Syrians with the provision of non-food relief items, water and sanitation facilities, transportation assistance, telecommunications equipment, and evacuation assistance for 77 non-Syrians displaced from Syria. 

IOM Turkey is part of UN country team and coordinates closely with UN agencies and government authorities to help Syrians in Turkey. Its work has been funded by Kuwait, Japan and Canada.

For further information please contact

Mazen Aboulhosn,
IOM Turkey
Email: maboulhosn@iom.int
Tel. +90 533 033 8132

or

Filiz Demir
Email: fdemir@iom.int
Tel. +90 538 335 8669