Situation updates: Turkey and northern Syria: Syrian refugee response in Turkey/Cross-border response in northern Syria: June 2017 update

The Turkey Country Office of the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe serves the health needs of families in northern Syria as well as Syrian refugees living in Turkey. www.euro.who.int Doctors at a clinic for refugees in Turkey see a young Syrian patient. Credit: Eray Mert Syrian refugee response in Turkey June 2017 update Health services for refugees in Turkey As part of the whole-of-Syria approach, the WHO Country Office in Turkey and its field office in Gaziantep delivered support in the following areas. Primary health care: WHO continues to train Syrian health staff living in Turkey to support their integration in the Turkish health-care system. Syrian professionals who successfully complete courses and on-the-job training are recruited to work in health centres serving refugees. In 2017, they provided approximately 150 000 linguistically and culturally sensitive medical consultations for refugees and migrants. To date, the Turkish Ministry of Health has hired over 400 trained Syrian health workers, physicians and nurses to serve in more than 80 refugee clinics throughout Turkey. Immunization: To meet the increasing needs of refugees, and to support poliomyelitis (polio) surveillance in northern Syria, WHO helped purchase materials for a reference laboratory in Ankara that tests stool samples from Syria and Turkey. WHO has secured these laboratory materials for an estimated three months. Mental health: In partnership with Turkey’s Ministry of Health, WHO is updating the training manual for medical translators in Arabic and Turkish. The manual covers mental health terms for Syrian staff who translate for Syrian refugee patients arriving at Turkish health facilities. It includes basic information on psychological first aid related to several conditions, including depression, suicidal thoughts, dementia, child and adolescent mental and behavioural disorders, substance abuse and epilepsy. 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey 400+ Syrian health professionals hired for clinics Funding Out of a revised total of US$ 19 million needed for its lifesaving work to help Syrian refugees in Turkey in 2017, WHO has received US$ 12.5 million. Donors WHO programmes in Turkey are funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (BPRM) of the United States of America’s Department of State, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), and the governments of China, Kuwait and Norway. “This project in Turkey was the salvation for Syrian doctors. With this programme, we felt like doctors for the first time in two years.” – Dr Muhammed Hattab, trainee in adaptation courses for refugee doctors The Turkey Country Office of the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe serves the health needs of families in northern Syria as well as Syrian refugees living in Turkey. www.euro.who.int WHO’s Gaziantep field office shipped several tonnes of equipment and supplies to northern Syria. Credit: WHO/Sheahen Health services for northern Syria Response to polio outbreak: Following tests on samples from paralysed children, in early June WHO confirmed an outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 in the Deir ez-Zor region of eastern Syria. More than 20 cases have been identified. With the approval of the WHO Director-General, the monovalent oral polio vaccine type 2 (mOPV2) was shipped to Syria. WHO, along with the Syrian Ministry of Health, the United Nations Children’s Fund and other health partners, plans to immunize 328 000 children under five years of age with the monovalent vaccine. The inactivated form of the polio vaccine will be used in a second round of immunizations aiming to reach 114 500 children aged between 2 and 24 months. Aid to displaced families: WHO’s partners provided vaccination, primary care and other services to families who fled military action in the city of ar-Raqqa. Medical supplies: WHO shipped to northern Syria intensive care unit equipment, operating theatre supplies, blood bank items, ventilators, anaesthesia drugs and other supplies worth US$ 769 834. Routine vaccination: Immunization against measles, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B and other diseases continues in 30 routine vaccination centres that restarted in northern Syria this year after being disrupted by years of conflict. Cholera surveillance: WHO is working with health partners to track potential cholera cases and has procured cholera kits, including oral rehydration salts and intravenous fluids, to be delivered by implementing partners. Trauma training: WHO began training over 70 Syrian doctors in treating patients in intensive care, and is training more than 250 civil defence workers on ways to decontaminate and treat patients suffering from consequences of exposure to chemicals. Cross-border response in northern Syria June 2017 update “For displaced people with no access to health care, we coordinate mobile clinics and send supplies where they are needed most.” – Dr Tasnim Atatrah, WHO Public Health Officer 27 tonnes of medical supplies sent 300+ health staff trained Funding Out of a total of US$ 63 million needed for its work in northern Syria in 2017, WHO has received US$ 12.6 million. Donors WHO programmes in northern Syria are funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) (United Kingdom), European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) pooled funds, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the governments of China, Japan, Kuwait and Norway.