Almost 70,000 Syrian babies born in Turkey: Deputy PM

ANKARA

REUTERS photo

Five years into the conflict of the neighboring country, almost 70,000 Syrian babies have been born in Turkey so far, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan has announced.

During a briefing to the parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission on Jan. 28, Akdoğan elaborated on health services provided for more than 2.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

“More than 260,000 Syrians are meeting their humanitarian needs for food, health, security, social activity, education, worship, translation and communication at 25 temporary sheltering centers in 10 provinces. Out of sheltering centers, there are around 2,300,000 Syrians in different cities of Turkey,” Akdoğan said.

“In total, as of today, 2,562,839 Syrians have been biometrically registered,” he added.

Health services are being offered at 15 field hospitals in temporary sheltering centers, he said: “Up to date; inside and outside of camps, around 10,030,313 policlinic services have been offered, 419,529 inpatients have been treated and 294,271 surgical operations have been performed. In total, 67,690 deliveries took place,” he elaborated.

According to figures provided by UNICEF, as of November 2015, 400,000 children accessed formal education through direct support and system strengthening; 80,000 children accessed child protection or psychosocial support services; and 30,000 households received emergency cash or cash vouchers in Turkey.