Minister Memişoğlu, speaking at the panel in which WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Brazilian Minister of Health Alexandre Padilha and Australian Center for Disease Control Director General Zoe Winterer were also panelists, drew attention to the importance of justice and international solidarity in health services.
Stating that justice in health requires the protection of people's rights even in their most difficult moments, Minister Memişoğlu said, "We all have a duty to ensure that children in Gaza have access to clean water, mothers have access to a safe hospital, and the injured have access to medicine and treatment. It is also the common responsibility of the international community to protect healthcare workers and ensure that they can reach their patients safely." he said.
In his speech at the panel, Minister Memişoğlu stated that they are also making preparations against the effects of climate change on health and said, "We prepared the Turkey Extreme Heat Health Action Plan with this understanding. We evaluate meteorology, air quality and health data together and develop risk maps at the district level. Our aim is to determine who may need help before the heat sets in and to prepare our health teams." he said.
Minister Memişoğlu stated that access to health services was expanded with the Health Transformation Program and said, "We expanded family medicine to 81 provinces. We brought advanced diagnosis and treatment opportunities under the same roof in our city hospitals. Today, we serve our nation with more than 1,500 hospitals and 1.5 million healthcare professionals." he said.
Stating that emergency health services have been strengthened by land and air ambulances as well as by sea, Minister Kemal Memişoğlu stated that they are working to reach patients wherever they are needed.
Minister Memişoğlu stated that the importance of continuity of health services was experienced under the most severe conditions during the earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023 and affected 11 provinces, and said, "Our Health Disaster Coordination Center directed our teams to the region from the first moment. Our National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE), which has more than 21 thousand volunteers, was with our nation at the rubble. We tracked which medicines and medical supplies were needed at which point with our disaster logistics software." he said.
Minister Kemal Memişoğlu stated that land, air and sea routes were used together in the earthquake zone and said, "We transported more than 51 thousand patients and injured people from the region. While our teams were trying to reach another life at the rubble, medicine distribution, drinking water checks and newborn monitoring were continuing in the villages." he said.
Emphasizing that family medicine is at the core of the Protective Health approach, Minister Memişoğlu said, "We have served our citizens 44 million times within the scope of chronic disease controls in the last two years. We must make healthy living a culture together. Our Healthy Life Centers provide services with this understanding. In these centers, we support our citizens with our dietitians, psychologists, physiotherapists and child development specialists. We offer free services in 17 different areas, from cancer screenings to pregnancy schools, from smoking cessation support to nutrition consultancy." he said.
Minister Kemal Memişoğlu reminded that domestic intensive care respirators were produced during the pandemic period and said, "Today, we export our respirators to 45 countries and our automatic shock devices to 16 countries." gave the information.
Stating that domestic heart-lung machines and mobile digital x-ray devices are available to hospitals, Minister Memişoğlu said, "Vaccine and diagnostic kits are being developed, and we support CAR-T studies that use the patient's own immune cells in cancer treatment." he said.
Stating that new ideas are financed through TÜSEB and researchers and producers are brought together, Minister of Health Memişoğlu invited those who have projects in the field of health to the "Productive Health Portal".
Stating that they aim to make international solidarity permanent with the Antalya Resilient Health Systems Initiative, Minister Memişoğlu invited countries to share their practices in the field, difficulties encountered and experiences gained.
