Health Workers in Diyarbakir Demand Increased Health Budget, Free Services, and Kurdish-Language Care

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Health workers in Diyarbakir staged a demonstration on Thursday calling for a significant increase in the Ministry of Health’s share of Turkey’s 2026 budget, arguing that the ongoing peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) should translate into greater investment in public services.

The protest, organized by the Health and Social Services Workers' Trade Union (better known as SES), took place in front of Gazi Yasargil Education and Research Hospital. Participants emphasized that, as conflicts have subsided, government spending should shift away from military allocations and toward strengthening the country’s overstretched healthcare sector.

Union members said the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent earthquakes had deepened Turkey’s economic crisis, intensifying pressure on health workers and worsening working conditions.

“Turkey’s budget has long been allocated to war,” SES co-chair Mehmet Nur Ulus told Kurdistan24. “We assert that a process has begun, that wars and conflicts have ceased, and this presents an opportunity for Turkey to invest its budget in health.”

Health workers demanded that services be offered free of charge and accessible in the Kurdish language, stressing that equitable care is a constitutional right. They also warned that chronic underfunding and mismanagement in the sector are causing preventable deaths.

Protesters criticized what they described as the diversion of public health funds to private companies, saying this has turned the health system into a profit-driven model rather than a public service.

“Heavy taxes on workers should be abolished, inexpensive medicines should be provided to patients by the state, and health services should be offered in the mother tongue and free of charge,” said Sengul Karaman, Director of the SES Diyarbakir Branch. “The burden on health workers is immense. Their income is insufficient, and their working conditions must be improved. The health sector should not serve as a commercial enterprise.”

In Turkey’s 2025 budget, the Ministry of Health received 1.02 trillion liras, compared to 1.608 trillion liras allocated to the Ministry of Defense. SES argues that with the peace process underway, the 2026 budget must reflect a shift toward civilian needs — particularly healthcare.

Health workers have vowed to continue their campaign until authorities commit to meaningful reforms that prioritize accessible, high-quality, and non-commercial health services.