19 June 2019, Ankara – UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund and the heads of the relevant departments at the Turkish Ministry of Health, collaborated for a joint technical workshop with the scope of the “Project for Improving access of Rural Refugees to Health and Protection Services in Turkey” financed by the The Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). The project aims to provide emergency response to the health needs of the people and refugees living in the rural areas of five provinces of Turkey, through mobile service units.

Aiming to clarify the expectations and the next steps within the scope of the project, UNFPA representatives briefly explained the implementation of the Humanitarian Programme in Turkey.

Then, a presentation about the extent, the purpose and the action plan of the “Project for Improving access of Rural Refugees to Health and Protection Services in Turkey” was delivered to the participants. In order to understand better the needs of the target group of the project, a short literature review reflecting the health indicators of the pre-crisis period in Syria was also presented and it was emphasized why mobile services were essential for this group and discussions continued in light of this information.

Afterwards, the technical consultant of the project shared the existing plans with the participants to determine the framework of the implementation guidelines which will form one of the basic components of the project, and requested feedback from the participants.

The workshop continued with discussions regarding the framework of the project, and some of the actions to be taken were agreed on. These actions include the occupational orientation of the field teams, projection of an implementation guideline and the protection indicators of the project.

All participants expressed their gratitude for the organization of the workshop which brought together relevant departments and served for developing a common understanding of the Project objectives. Learnings of the workshop will be used to develop the Standard Operating Procedures for the field staff to be hired within the scope of Project for Improving access of Rural Refugees to Health and Protection Services in Turkey.