Skip to main content

COVID-19 pandemic expands poverty in Turkey

Charity workers say poverty in Turkey has reached unprecedented proportions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as the government lacks the means to offer meaningful relief.
GettyImages-1229980236.jpg
Read in 

“We have been helping vulnerable people for two decades, but never before have I seen such poverty.” This is how charity activist Hacer Foggo summarizes the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the most indigent segments of Turkish society. Foggo, a co-founder of the Deep Poverty Network, a civic initiative helping the poor, speaks of a rising number of people waiting outside groceries for the disposal of bad vegetables and fruits, mothers unable to breastfeed their babies because of malnourishment, and supermarkets installing hook locks on infant formula and other basic items of food. “I’m afraid that we’ll see … families living in the streets in the near future,” she warns.

Poverty in Turkey has both expanded and deepened during the pandemic, which hit at a time when Ankara was already in financial dire straits amid economic turmoil, since 2018.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.