Senior UN official to visit camp

ISTANBUL - The Associated Press

The executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will visit a camp for refugees from Syria near the southern Anatolian city of Gaziantep tomorrow.

UNFPA chief Babatunde Osotimehin will speak with refugees, aid workers and Turkish officials in the Nizip camp to assess the impact of UNFPA’s assistance and identify needs that the Fund can address, in particular related to reproductive health and sexual and gender-based violence, U.N. Information Center (UNIC) in Ankara announced in a press statement released on April 11. The statement also said that some 14,000 people have found refuge in the camp, with almost three quarters of them being women and children.

“UNFPA has already delivered 40,000 hygiene kits to refugees in the 14 camps set up by the Turkish authorities; another 20,000 will be delivered soon. The kits include sanitary items helping refugees to maintain daily hygiene routines under the harsh conditions of camp life,” the statement said. During the visit, Osotimehin will also meet with members of the Turkish Parliament and the mayor of Gaziantep, UNIC said.