Admission on 'child poverty' from Family Minister Göktaş: 'One in every four children...'

Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş has made notable statements regarding child poverty.

Göktaş announced that the total number of children in the 2.2 million households benefiting from the Family Support Program due to poverty is 5.4 million.

According to TUIK data, there are 22 million 206 thousand children in Turkey. 

25 percent of children, meaning 1 in every 4 children, are in the grip of poverty... Göktaş stated, "We will make a total payment of approximately 3.8 billion TL, with 2.9 billion TL to approximately 3.2 million households under the Family Support scope, and approximately 900 million TL for 5.4 million children in approximately 2.2 million households under the Child Support scope."

172 THOUSAND CHILDREN AT THE BOTTOM

The Turkey Family Support Program, introduced by President Erdoğan in 2022, initially had 2.5 million households. The number of households rose to 3.2 million in July of this year. The Turkey Family Support Program was expanded this year, and child support was added. Depending on the number of children in eligible households, monthly payments between 350 TL and 650 TL were made.

The number of children benefiting from the Social and Economic Support (SED) provided by the Ministry for "children of families who cannot be cared for alongside their families and have difficulty maintaining their lives even at the lowest level" has also increased year by year. In 2020, 129 thousand 422 children were benefiting from the SED service. As of the end of 2023, this figure rose to 164 thousand 995. By the end of June 2024, the number increased to 171 thousand 895.