Turkey bears a heavy burden in a "fragile region of the world" by hosting more than 4 million refugees and providing free health services to refugee mothers and babies, the first lady said in Switzerland on Monday.

Axar.az reports citing Anadolu Agency that Emine Erdogan was the keynote speaker at a forum titled Time for Action: Adopting a Proactive Approach to Prevent Maternal and Infant Mortality at Birth.

The panel was held as part of the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva to build on decades of work for refugees.

"Our country is the country that has the second-fastest decrease in infant and child mortality in the last 30 years," she said, adding that the record includes refugees.

"According to a survey conducted in 2018, the number of Syrian infant deaths was 42 per thousand for 2003-2008, and this number decreased to 22 per thousand in 2013-2018," said Erdogan.

Erdogan spoke of the great efforts made for the lives of more than 100,000 Syrian babies that are born each year in Turkey.

Looking to safeguards for the future, Erdogan voiced a goal: "If we can replace the fighter jets with children's kites in the sky, we can make the best of life."