Turkey and COVID-19: Balancing Health and Economic Priorities

PRIO Policy Brief

Tank, Pinar (2020) Turkey and COVID-19: Balancing Health and Economic Priorities, MidEast Policy Brief, 4. Oslo: PRIO.

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Turkey’s response to COVID-19 has been effective, employing travel restrictions, selective lockdowns and widespread testing. A young population and a good public healthcare system have been critical to its success. As a global travel hub and the world’s largest migrant host nation, Turkey’s strategy has been important in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. However, lack of transparency and freedom of expression under the Justice and Development Party government (AKP) raises uncertainty regarding official statistics, and there are regional challenges to the government’s national policies. As Turkey’s economy hangs in the balance, the AKP has to weigh up economic needs versus public health, as the re-opening of society may undermine the progress made on containing the pandemic.

03/07/2020
COVID-19 in the Middle East: Different Regimes, Different Responses

​In May, a new PRIO Middle East Centre project started. The project, entitled 'Reacting to COVID-19 Across the MENA region', aims to explore how Middle East states reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic and what these varied reactions say about the regimes in question, combining statistical analysis of regional patterns with five case studies: Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Israel, and Palestine. The case studies are published in the MidEast Policy Brief series, with an accompanying PRIO Paper presenting the statistical analysis.

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