Adaptation of Operational Activities to Humanitarian Crises – COVID-19 pandemic

Turkish Red Crescent’s (TRC) Kızılaykart Cash Based Assistance Programmes Coordinatorship continues to work relentlessly with the aim to develop shock-responsiveness and continue to alleviate human suffering caused by conflicts, involuntary migration and socioeconomic challenges in the face of the constantly evolving situation. Despite the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, TRC has maintained its operations without disruption by adapting and aligning them with the preventive measures implemented across the country. The rapid response to the developments is one of the examples which reflect the capacity and adaptability of the institution. Despite the magnitude and complexity of the processes, as one of the most prominent humanitarian aid actors in Turkey and the region, in light of the new situation, TRC has gone above and beyond the commonplace activities, to ensure that there is no delay in terms of delivery of cash assistance to the affected populations.

The context to be borne in mind includes various challenges, alongside the pandemic and the fact that Turkey remains the country hosting the largest refugee population in the world as the 15th of March marks the tenth anniversary of the conflict in Syria. Apart from the refugees from Syria who continue to seek asylum in Turkey, a significant number of refugees from other conflict zones such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Palestine and other countries reside in Turkey, as well. The Kızılaykart Platform, which was established in this regard as a unique and innovative humanitarian assistance model, enables timely, scalable and efficient delivery of multipurpose humanitarian cash assistance to people in need, in alignment with the national social assistance scheme. It consists of a diversified portfolio of projects that have been carried out for almost a decade in close collaboration with the Government of Turkey (GoT), local authorities and UN agencies.