October 17, 2017•Update: October 17, 2017
By Ilker Girit
ISTANBUL
The European Union's aid plan for refugees in Turkey has reached one million vulnerable people, the EU said on Tuesday.
"Today is a milestone for the life-changing results achieved by our biggest ever aid program; and for the EU delivering on its commitments to Turkey," European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said in a statement.
"We have made a difference for a staggering one million people already [...] It is our humanitarian and moral duty to help refugees that have fled war and persecution," Stylianides added.
The €348 million ($410 million) program provides monthly money transfers to refugees in Turkey through a special debit card that can be used to buy items in local stores.
Registered refugees have received around €30 ($35) per person per month as part of the plan implemented by the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) and the World Food Programme, with EU assistance since September last year.
Turkey hosts more Syrian refugees than any other country in the world. The country has spent around $25 billion helping and sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.
Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.
