Giant Investments from the Ministry of Health with the Vision of the 'Century of Healthy Türkiye'

In line with the 'Century of Healthy Türkiye' vision, the Ministry of Health has taken giant steps over the past two years in a wide range of areas, from health infrastructure to preventive health services. This comprehensive transformation process, which gained momentum with Minister Kemal Memişoğlu taking office, aims to both strengthen the physical infrastructure and expand digital applications. In order to strengthen primary healthcare services across Türkiye, 126 new Healthy Life Centers and 598 Family Health Centers were opened. Additionally, the construction of 100 new facilities was completed to increase secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities. As of today, citizens are provided with services through a total of 348 Healthy Life Centers and 8 thousand 350 Family Health Centers nationwide.

In this period where preventive health services came to the forefront, chronic disease screening and regular monitoring were conducted for 45 million citizens. Thanks to these comprehensive screenings, approximately 12 million citizens were diagnosed for the first time in family medicine units, allowing them to start their treatment processes early. The pending appointment demand in the Central Hospital Appointment System (MHRS) decreased from approximately 4 million to 322 thousand, achieving a record drop of 92 percent. The number of Smoking Cessation polyclinics tripled, rising to 1 thousand 577, and a total of 497 thousand 622 examinations were carried out in these units. While health services reached millions of people through the ALO 171 hotline and mobile teams in the field, 581 thousand 730 citizens fighting addiction were guided through the ALO 191 hotline.

Various awareness campaigns were also meticulously conducted to instill healthy living habits in society. Through projects such as 'Learn Your Ideal Weight, Live Healthy' and 'Learn Your Activity Age, Live Healthy', citizens were encouraged to regulate their lifestyles. In order to protect maternal and infant health, comprehensive training and counseling services were provided to 1 million 723 thousand expectant mothers during pregnancy and childbirth. Coordinator midwives assigned within the scope of the 'A Midwife for Every Pregnant Woman' program closely monitored and guided 722 thousand 629 pregnant women. These studies show that the health system adopts a proactive approach aimed at preventing diseases, rather than merely intervening in them.

To facilitate citizens' access to medication and support their treatment processes, 782 new drugs were included in the reimbursement coverage in the last two years. Along with the new application initiated to digitalize organ donation processes, 136 thousand 884 citizens became organ donors via e-Devlet and e-Nabız. Thanks to this digital transformation, the number of monthly organ donations increased significantly from 2 thousand 500 to 14 thousand. Critical steps were also taken in domestic vaccine production, and hepatitis A and chickenpox vaccines began to be produced in Türkiye through technology transfer. While the hepatitis A vaccine was made available in all 81 provinces, the Six-Component Combined Vaccine and the Tdap vaccine for pregnant women were also successfully included in the national vaccination program.

In line with the goal of increasing domestic and national production in health technologies, the first open-heart surgery was performed at Ankara Bilkent Şehir Hastanesi using the LIFELINE HLM heart-lung machine developed by Turkish engineers. While mobile digital X-ray devices developed in collaboration with ASELSAN and TÜSEB took their place in public hospitals, CAR-T cell therapy used in the treatment of hematological cancers was produced entirely with domestic resources. The developed CAR-T therapy has been applied at Etlik Şehir Hastanesi since last December and has been used to cure 12 patients to date. Test flights of the domestic and national GÖKBEY ambulance helicopters, designed to increase the accessibility of emergency health services, were successfully completed. While the addition of three GÖKBEY air ambulances to the fleet is planned by the end of 2026, the Ministry announced that digitalization and domestic technology investments in healthcare will continue with determination.