IOM Turkey Calls for Greater Assistance for Migrants and Refugees as COVID-19 Restrictions Ease - IOM UN migration
Turkey has the 10th highest number of COVID-19 cases globally, but strict measures implemented by the government have allowed it to flatten the curve, with new cases down to under 1,000 per day.
As lock-down restrictions ease in the world’s largest refugee-hosting country, hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants continue face elevated levels of risk. Many are trying to return to work but can’t afford basic personal protective equipment (PPE) or pay for medical services should they fall ill.
Given this reality, further support to ensure greater protection of migrants is urgently needed.
“The COVID-19 epidemic hit migrant and refugee communities in the larger cities such as Istanbul, Izmir and Gaziantep particularly hard,” explaiend IOM Turkey’s Emergency Coordinator Mazen Aboulhosn. “Hundreds of thousands of migrants were among the first to lose their jobs, causing an immediate financial burden for them and their families. Many are still not able to afford food, medicine and healthcare.
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▻https://www.iom.int/news/iom-turkey-calls-greater-assistance-migrants-and-refugees-covid-19-restrictions