MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Commission announced in a press release Monday that it would allocate 700 million euros ($825 million) to assist refugees in Turkey, whose number in the country currently amounts to 3.4 million people.
"The Commission has announced today additional humanitarian aid for two major projects through the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey, that both work by providing monthly transfers on a special debit card. €650 million goes to the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) which is implemented by the World Food Programme. A further €50 million will boost the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education (CCTE) project implemented by UNICEF," the press release said.
The ESSN program was launched in September 2016. It consists in allocating money to the most vulnerable refugees in Turkey on a monthly basis. The Turkish refugee families, participating in the program, receive about 30 euros per family member every month, which they can spend on essential items such as food, fuel or medicine.
The ССTE program, launched in March 2017, is aimed at encouraging refugee children to attend school. The families, whose children attend school on a regular basis, receive bimonthly payments under the program.
