15.04.2026 13:13
AK Party Deputy Chairman Halit Yerebakan stated that the number of doctors in Turkey is 235,000, and with 125,000 students awaiting graduation from medical schools, the number of doctors will reach 350,000 in the next 6 years.
AK Party Deputy Chairman Yerebakan attended the "Anatolian Conversations" program of the Turkey Press Federation as a guest and answered questions from journalists. Yerebakan stated that Turkey is in a very good position compared to world countries in terms of access to healthcare, expressing that the right investments were made in the health sector at the right time.
He announced that as the AK Party Health Policies Presidency, they are working on strengthening health law and health ethics legislation and on supervision models.
"HOSPITALS SERVE 3 TIMES THE OECD AVERAGE NUMBER OF PATIENTS"
Explaining that hospitals in Turkey provide treatment services to three times the OECD average number of patients per year, Yerebakan noted that the Ministry of Health continues its work to reduce this burden on hospitals by strengthening family medicine.
"I INVITE OUR CITIZENS TO HEALTHY LIFE CENTERS"
Pointing out the importance of citizens applying to "Healthy Life Centers" within the scope of healthy living and preventive health services, Yerebakan said, "Our Ministry of Health has established Healthy Life Centers in every district/city. I invite all our citizens to receive services from these places. There are dietitians, psychologists there, our people who check your sugar, weight, height, guide you regarding these, and protect you. At the same time, early diagnosis is important. Our early diagnosis centers are also here. Therefore, the public may not have expressed it effectively, but we have Healthy Life Centers where we can offer all these opportunities in the best way to our citizens who wish."
"MICROPLASTICS AFFECT HORMONE BALANCE AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH"
Pointing out the effects of microplastics on human health in addition to environmental toxins, Yerebakan said the following regarding the question of whether microplastics affect reproductive health:
"There is plastic and petrochemical everywhere in life. Therefore, we have evidence that plastics, phthalates, various substances like BPA cause hormonal disorders and negatively affect reproductive health. Thankfully, there is a very valuable person in our country who has raised awareness on this issue worldwide, the esteemed lady, the spouse of our President. The 'Zero Waste' concept agenda has created a perception all over the world. Unless we manage environmental health well, we will not only talk about reproductive problems, male-type infertility, etc., in human health. I want to state that the environment poses a risk to humans in terms of chronic diseases, diabetes, oral diseases, heart diseases, cancer, and reproduction. Therefore, we also need to increase our environmental awareness."
IS THE NUMBER OF DOCTORS IN TURKEY SUFFICIENT?
Halit Yerebakan also answered the question regarding the number of doctors in Turkey: "Has Turkey reached the required number of doctors? Not yet. They said the standard staffing level similar to European Union standards or the norm there was 2026, let's say 2028. But we foresee it will not be 2029. Therefore, we think we will reach this standard staffing level within the next 1-2 years. We have a very high number of assistants, meaning specialists are developing. We have a very high number of medical school students."