Supporting refugees and vulnerable host community members gain access to social services

Türkiye	Turkish Vice President’s Office

A family photo showing a mother with four children on a sofa.

Context

Nearly four million refugees live in Türkiye, the majority of whom have fled Syria. Türkiye faces challenges in providing these refugees with access to quality social services and ensuring their safety and livelihoods.

Meanwhile, the worsening economic situation – which includes increased costs of living and a high unemployment rate – and the repercussions of the severe earthquakes of February 2023 are giving rise to precarious living conditions and psychological stress. This in turn is putting pressure on the state of social cohesion in Türkiye. Vulnerable groups, such as single women, people with disabilities or children, are particularly unable to access social support services.

Objective

The personal and socio-economic resilience of refugees and other vulnerable population groups has been improved.

A black-and-white photo showing a young Iraqi women in nature

Approach

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have the potential to address gaps in Türkiye's social support system. Unfortunately, they lack the necessary capacities and expertise, especially in underserved areas.

For this reason, the project is supporting community-based local initiatives in underserved regions of Türkiye in their efforts to provide integrated, need-based social services to refugees and other vulnerable groups in host communities. This also reinforces the localisation approach. The services cover the following areas:

Protection and specialised support services
Non-formal education
Intercultural understanding and social cohesion

In addition, GIZ is carrying out capacity-building measures for its partner NGOs. Collaboration and mutual learning among the supported NGOs are also being promoted within the Civil Society Network for Localisation and Peer Support (ADA Türkiye).

The project is co-financed by the European Commission's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Last update: September 2023