Pursuing Sustainable Development Goals
The History and Dimensions of Poverty in Türki̇ye
Ayda Rona Aylin AltınayTürkiye is celebrating its one-hundredth anniversary and implementing policies to promote sustainable development at the same time. With nearly 82 million citizens, Türkiye stands as a dynamic nation that has a distinct historical context that shapes the country’s trajectory. As the nation’s accomplishments and potential are reviewed, sustainable development goals, including the pioneering goal of ending poverty, must be examined. This complex phenomenon hinders human potential, maintains inequality, and slows the advancement of inclusive and equitable societies. The UNDP and its partners in Türkiye1 are working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) by 2030, and the first goal is to end poverty by that time. After 25 years of steady progress in reducing poverty, the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed that progress, with the number of people living in extreme poverty rising for the first time in a generation. In comparison to predictions made before the pandemic, the combined crisis with the Ukranian war could result in an increase of 75 million to 95 million people living in extreme poverty in 2022 (UN, 2022; 26). When compared globally between the years 2000 and 2016, Türkiye was one of those nations that has significantly reduced poverty and showed delicate success in eradicating severe poverty (BM, 2019; 35). Unfortunately, that was a fragile progress and today poverty is still a serious problem in our country. Elimination of poverty in all its forms and dimensions is an indispensable requirement and the policies aimed at reaching this requirement will be the focus of this chapter.
