Highlights

• The Conditional Cash Transfer for Education Programme for Refugee Children expanded significantly in 2019, reaching over 562,000 children by year end—a 37% increase over last year.

• More than 680,000 Syrian and other refugee students were enrolled in public schools and temporary education centres across the country, over 11,800 out-of-school children enrolled in the Accelerated Learning Programme and more than 7,500 children benefitted from Turkish language classes.

• Over 255,000 vulnerable refugees, migrants and asylum-seekers— including nearly 200,000 children—accessed protection services across a network of 74 UNICEF-supported spaces and centres.

• More than 94,000 adolescents and young people participated in a range of activities promoting social cohesion, including life skills courses, community action projects and sports events.

• In 2020, additional flexible funding is urgently needed to ensure the continued coverage of essential services for thousands of vulnerable children who remain at high risk of school drop-out, exploitation and abuse.

Situation in Numbers
(UNHCR, 31 December)
1,742,492
children in need
11,591,714
people in need
3,576,659

of registered refugees

Funding Overview and Partnerships

In 2019, UNICEF Turkey required US $239.4 million to respond to the needs of 4 million refugees under the framework of the Regional Refugee and Response Plan (3RP). Of this, UNICEF received US $91.6 million in new funding, with generous contributions from key donors such as the European Union, United States, Germany, Norway and Japan. Together with carry-forward from 2018, this left the humanitarian response with a 16 per cent funding gap. UNICEF also received $96.8 million in funding for use in 2020. However, this new funding is heavily earmarked and additional flexible funding is urgently needed to ensure the continued coverage of essential services for thousands of vulnerable children who remain at high risk of school drop-out, exploitation and abuse.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

In 2019, Turkey remained home to the largest registered refugee population in the world, with over four million people. Nearly 3.6 million Syrians—including over 1.6 million children—are under temporary protection, 98% of whom live in host communities. In addition, Turkey remains a leading transit country for unregistered refugees and migrants on the move. In 2019, over 183,000 people—primarily Afghans, Syrians and Iraqis—attempted to cross by sea and land from Turkey into the EU, a nearly 70% increase over 2018. Of these, over 76,000 successfully arrived in Greece and Bulgaria—approximately 37% of whom were children. An additional 60,000 people were rescued or intercepted at sea and nearly 46,000 were apprehended on land.