“To reach a balanced and sustainable level of development, and a stable population structure within it, health care systems and education programs for the labor force must be strengthened,” noted Yılmaz in the opening speech of the International Conference on Development and Population (ICDP) forum in İstanbul. The minister defined Turkey as a developing country that contains almost every characteristic of population movements, and for this reason, Yılmaz said, Turkey is the right place to host such an event. Yılmaz also touched on how progress of the long discussions in the world on the population parallels the growing respect for human rights and democratic values. The Cairo Consensus, which was created at an ICDP summit in 1994, focuses on the individual, Yılmaz added. “The ICDP was able to predict the current problems being faced in today’s world 15 years ago and underlined the importance place of young people and women in development.”“Since 1994, dozens of political and economic changes have been experienced throughout the world, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia are the parts of the world that have been influenced by this change the most. However, putting these changes aside, issues such as education, migration, family planning, the protection of children and young people, the strengthening of the position of youth in society and the prevention of HIV/AIDS have been the most important issues, and countries must continue to pay attention to them,” Yılmaz noted.
Goal of reducing infant and under 5 mortality rates reached
Yılmaz remarked on Turkey’s progress in human development since the 1990s, saying its rank in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI) has increased.
“The Health Transformation Program has increased the number of vaccination and health services for mothers before and after giving birth and has reached the goal of lowering the number of babies and children who die under the age of 5. This goal was predicted to be realized in 2015 according to the Cairo Consensus,” Yilmaz noted. He also added that there has been promising progress in reducing the number of mothers who die in childbirth.
Yılmaz said the proper analysis of data played a guiding role in determining the steps necessary to reach the goals set in the Cairo Consensus. Pointing out the significant role of the young population in Turkey in comparison with other countries, Yılmaz said the integration of youth in society as a whole and their participation in social life as active individuals are very important for Turkey’s position in the region.
Yılmaz warned that although significant progress has been made in the country’s health program, it was still not enough. “We have to make greater efforts in the next five years to reach the development targets set out in the Cairo Consensus on global and regional development.”
