World Bank report points to Turkey’s progress
Posted by meb at March 20th, 2008
A document released yesterday by the World Bank on its Web site details positive developments in Turkey’s economy, education, science and healthcare systems.
The assessment, titled “Turkey’s Development Results,” noted that Turkey is making progress in its development across a range of sectors, including modernization of the cadastre and land registry systems, increased efficiency within the energy sector and the assistance provided to growing businesses for accessing needed capital. “The country as a whole is moving forward, and it is seeing results,” the bank stated.
As regards the economy, the assessment first pointed to the efforts to reduce poverty, noting that the poverty rate of 27 percent in 2002 dropped to just under 18 percent in 2006 in Turkey. “These numbers represent large parts of the population that are reaping the benefits that come with sustainable development, including improved health, better education and the prospect of a better life for their children.”
The bank also said the government’s aggressive reform efforts had led to consistent improvements in the macroeconomic situation. Turkey’s average gross domestic product (GDP) growth has been 7 percent over the last five years, and inflation neared 7 percent last year, the lowest level in the last 30 years.
Also mentioned by the World Bank are reforms that simplify procedures for starting a new business. The time it takes to start a business dropped from 38 days in 2003 to nine days in 2006, it noted.
The education system in the country has also seen great improvements, the report said. Turkish girls in secondary school increased from 42 percent of the total in the 2001-02 school year to 51 percent in the 2005-06 school year.
The assessment praised improvements in the health sector as well, pointing to the significant reduction in infant mortality as one example. The infant mortality rate decreased from 43 per 1,000 live births in 1998 to 24 per 1,000 live births in 2005, according to data released by the Ministry of Health. Further, life expectancy is now 72 years. “These results stem from a number of initiatives and major ongoing reform efforts in the health sector,” the bank stated.
The statement also noted the government’s success in reforming the healthcare system, especially with the health transition project and the public sector development policy program. The introduction of universal health insurance was mentioned as a significant initiative by the government in terms of reforming the health system. “The aim of universal health insurance is to effectively provide health insurance coverage for all Turkish citizens, including the estimated 10 million people who currently are not covered by any insurance at all,” the report said.
The assessment criticized the previous system for being “highly fragmented, with certain hospitals only available to specific groups and major inequalities in care.” The government’s plan to subsidize the premium payments for Turkey’s poor was also praised by the World Bank. The report noted other achievements in the healthcare sector as the introduction of family medicine for the provision of primary care services and giving more autonomy and responsibility to public hospitals to improve their efficiency and effectiveness in delivering health services to their patients.
The bank also covered the advantages of biological diversity in Turkey and provided some examples; around 1,200 of the country’s 10,000 plant species are endemic. In addition, over 100 Important Bird Areas have been identified in Turkey, mainly coming in the form of wetlands that provide nesting habitats and food sources for large numbers of birds passing between Africa and Europe during their seasonal migrations. While stating these as examples of Turkey’s natural richness, the World Bank warned that only a few pristine natural areas remain. However, the bank also noted that there have been some moves by the government to address this issue. The Biodiversity and Natural Resources Management Project, for example, is being utilized in developing and implementing plans for managing four priority nature protection sites, the report noted.
source: Today’s Zaman
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