CASH IN EMERGENCIES TOOLKIT

Country pages

Cash in Türkiye

Learning from the Turkish Red Crescent’s comprehensive humanitarian cash programmes in Türkiye

The Turkish Red Crescent (Türk Kızılay) has been at the forefront of large-scale humanitarian cash programming for the last decade. Its sector-leading Kızılaykart Platform enables simultaneous implementation of multiple cash assistance programmes, through the ‘Kızılaykart’ (debit card).  

A series of cash assistance programmes are currently supporting vulnerable adults and children living under Temporary Protection, International Protection (applicant status and status holder) or Humanitarian Residence Permit in Türkiye, along with those affected by the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. 

Find further information and resources on the Kızılaykart cash-based assistance programmes here: (EN) (TR)   

From 2020 to 2023 the Turkish Red Crescent and the IFRC, with funding from the European Union, implemented the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) – which was the largest humanitarian cash programme in the world.

Via the ESSN, more than 1.5 million refugees living in Türkiye received regular monthly cash assistance, enabling people to decide for themselves how to cover their essential needs such as food, rent, medicine, transport and other bills. In 2023 the programme was handed over to the Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Services, who continue implementing the now renamed Social Safety Net (SSN) programme in partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent. 

Click here to access the IFRC Go Platform Dashboard for Turkiye 

ESSN Learning Exchange 

In December 2023 the IFRC and Türk Kızılay organised an Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) Learning Exchange event, with the support of the Cash Hub. The event, held in-person in Ankara and attended by remote participants online, was a part of proceedings marking the formal conclusion and handover of the ESSN.

The overall aim of the Learning Exchange was to use experience from ESSN implementation to contribute to the broader body of knowledge on humanitarian emergency cash and social protection programming.

Key sessions looked at the ESSN journey since its inception in 2016; community engagement and accountability (CEA) in large-scale CVA programming; innovative uses of data supporting ESSN design and implementation; programme adaptability and shock responsiveness; the value of positive campaigning via lessons from the ESSN’s unique story telling project; and at enablers for the successful implementation of a large-scale nexus programme.  

Find out more here

Kahramanmaraş Earthquake response: Find the latest resources

20 February 2023

Shaken to the Core: Assessing the impact of the earthquake on ESSN and C-ESSN recipients

This report provides an overview of the impact of the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake on ESSN and C-ESSN…

2 March 2023

Kahramanmaraş Earthquake: Rapid Market Assessment

This rapid assessment aims to understand the current market conditions after the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake, identifies the…

16 March 2023

Minimum Expenditure Basket Methodology and Analysis for Türkiye Earthquake Emergency

This report, compiled by Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC)…

Cash in action

Access stories that include voices and insights of people receiving cash assistance in Türkiye clicking on the link below.

Cash in action

17 May 2017

Profiling of caseload in need of cash-based interventions – Results

Type:

Report

Organization:

Inter-agency coordination Turkey

This “Cash Gap Analysis” is aimed to profile the refugee population in Turkey who require cash assistance to meet their basic needs and, in the absence of such assistance, may face heightened vulnerability to certain protection issues (e.g. child labour, early marriage, etc.). The findings are intended to inform programming and ways forward to ensure that all Syrian and non-Syrian refugees in Turkey are able to meet their basic needs.

  • Cash in Turkiye

Read more