18 million people standing with help

Poverty in Türkiye is increasing day by day. Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş announced in the Turkish Grand National Assembly that 4.4 million households trying to live below the poverty line benefit from social assistance. It was revealed that 17.6 million people needed assistance due to poverty… In 2018, when the presidential system was introduced, this figure was 3 million 494 thousand 932. The number of children who cannot be cared for by their families reached a high of 163,995.

In his statement during the budget discussions at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Minister Göktaş said: “We directly reach out to those in need with the social assistance programs that we have developed taking into account the needs of our citizens. “We combat the negative impact of poverty through social assistance that increases inclusion and accessibility,” he said.

EXPLOSION IN THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN BENEFICIARIES OF SUPPORT

The number of children benefiting from social and economic support (SED) paid by the Ministry for children who cannot be cared for by their families has skyrocketed. Although 129,422 children benefited from the SED in 2020, this figure increased to 157,248 in 2022 and 155,000 in 2023. However, the goal was not achieved again. Minister Göktaş announced that this year 163,995 children will benefit from the SED payment. The estimate for 2024 was 190 thousand, the estimate for 2025 was 200 thousand and the estimate for 2026 was 210 thousand.

POVERTY IS GROWING

In 2022, the Ministry of Family and Social Services spent 62 thousand 742 million 374 thousand 899 TL for the fight against poverty and social assistance. The allocation for 2023 was 91 billion 582 million 780 thousand TL. The government, which aims to end poverty, allocated 205 billion 861 million 822 thousand TL to fight poverty in 2024. In 2025, 213 billion 378 million 802 thousand TL will be spent to combat poverty, and in 2026, 246 billion 413 million 207 thousand TL.