President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with healthcare professionals at the iftar program at Etlik City Hospital. First Lady Emine Erdoğan and Minister of Health Dr. Fahrettin Koca were also present in the program.
Expressing his pleasure to be among the healthcare professionals, President Erdoğan sent greetings to all health personnel working in the country and abroad, and said, "I would like to thank all of our healthcare workers, for the services they provide to our country and our beloved nation."
“We did not leave any of our citizens helpless during the pandemic”
Reminding that many events took place in recent years that test Turkey's capacity and resilience one of which was the coronavirus pandemic, and continued his words as follows:
“Thanks to the devoted efforts of our health army and the measures we took in a timely manner, we did not leave any of our citizens helpless during the pandemic. There is not a single person who was turned away from the hospital door, died because he could not find medicine or reach health services, could not access the opportunity of vaccination even though he wanted to. Thankfully, none of the dire scenes seen in countries that are much richer than ours in terms of economy did not happen in Türkiye. We could manage this epidemic, which is called the biggest health crisis that humanity has faced in the last century, with truly admirable organizational ability.”
Expressing that Türkiye experienced one of the darkest days in history on the morning of February 6, President Erdogan continued as follows:
“The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş caused serious destruction and loss of life in 11 provinces where 14 million people lived. There are also members of our health army who have lost their relatives, who, even so, continued providing health services without stopping and without getting tired.
Furthermore, 505 health personnel lost their lives in the quakes. I would like to express my condolences once again to our nation and our healthcare community.”
“Our health army was at the forefront of this process again”
Emphasizing that they stand by the victims in all their needs, from search and rescue to the treatment of the injured, from shelter to food and food supply, President Erdoğan said, “Our medical army was at the forefront of this process again. From the moment of the earthquake, we were on the field with 212 UMKE and 112 emergency health vehicles; 14 air ambulances, 1426 ambulances, nearly 16 thousand UMKE and 112 emergency medical personnel. We transported 2,580 of the injured to other cities by air, nearly 49,000 by land, and 327 by sea. Currently, 7,731 earthquake victims are hospitalized and 1008 of them are being treated in intensive care. I wish them a speedy recovery.”
Minister Koca spoke at the iftar program
Health Minister Koca said that health workers from all levels are represented in the program organized on the occasion of April 7 World Health Day.
Expressing that healthcare professionals showed superhuman efforts both during the Covid-19 pandemic and during the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, Dr. Koca thanked all healthcare personnel working for the health of people.