Mother and Child Health Care and Human Development in Turkey: A Review

Abstract

Human development and investing in human are major issues of today’s world. In spite of rapid improvements in the near past, Turkey is still behind of the most middle- income and of the countries at a similar level of economic status in terms of human development. As an economic power Turkey is 17th in the global scale but is 71st in the Human Development Index prepared according to social indicators involving health and education. The demographic profile of Turkey is relatively young and mother and child health care issues concern about 57.0% of the total population. On the other hand Turkey has the poorest indices in terms of mother and child health among European countries. The indicators regarding mother and child health care issues have shown improvements in the last four decades as a result of socio-economic development and priority given to these health services. But still there are discrepancies between rural-urban and eastern-western regions of the country. Some of these discrepancies exist because of the economic disadvantages. But most of them are still alive due to cultural norms. The most effective cultural norm is the diminished value of women and girls. Almost all studies showed a strong correlation between these discrepancies and educational and/or socioeconomic level of women. Turkey’s health expectations are not far to reach but depend on prioritizing and strengthening of women both in educational and economic manner.