Minister Göktaş: Our priority is a strong social protection system that protects the rights of the child.

Minister Göktaş made a speech at the "Investing in the Welfare of Children: The Path to Sustainable and Equitable Development of Future Generations World Summit" held in the historical city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Stating that today's world is going through a period in which economic, technological and social transformations reshape the understanding of development, Göktaş emphasized that the most important thing in this process is that economic growth turns into social welfare and everyone can benefit from the opportunities of development.

Emphasizing that Turkey, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has implemented comprehensive policies that will ensure the healthy development of children, their receipt of qualified education and their growth in a safe family environment, Göktaş stated that they prioritize meeting the needs of children at an early age and strengthening families socially and economically.

Göktaş stated that for this purpose, they carry out social aid and social services with a holistic approach that complements each other, and in this context, they encourage children to attend school regularly with the Conditional Education Assistance Program, and said, "We make their education life easier with the support we provide in areas such as educational materials, transportation, accommodation and food. With our Conditional Health Aid, we support our children to benefit from regular health checks from an early age. With our Social and Economic Support service, we primarily support our children to grow up with their own families, considering their best interests." he said.

Stating that they provided support to approximately 200 thousand children as of September, Göktaş stated that they complemented the economic support with psychosocial consultancy and guidance studies within the scope of this service.

Göktaş underlined that, with the foster family model, they ensure that children grow up in a family environment full of love and trust, and that through the Voluntary Ambassadors Project carried out under the auspices of President Erdoğan's wife, Emine Erdoğan, foster family awareness is spread and it is aimed for more children to grow up in a family environment.

Emphasizing that integrated service delivery, sustainable financing and social investments should be transformed into concrete results in order to make social protection services for children more effective, Göktaş pointed out the importance of establishing strong coordination between social aid, education, health and social services.

Source: TRT Haber Açık RSS (Gündem) (Open Press / Translated Full Text)