Sometimes when I look at the flaws in Turkey's healthcare system, I remember the two years I spent in Taiwan. Working in one of the most powerful centers of reconstructive microsurgery in the world, I saw not only surgical mastery but also how a country's sense of equality can transform healthcare.
The hospital where I worked was really the fountainhead of science; surgeons, researchers, young physicians from all over the world came there to learn. Science was not a showcase there, it was a way of life. This atmosphere showed me this: If a country puts science and equality at the center, its health system becomes stronger by itself. Today, when I look back, I often ask myself the same question: How did they succeed and why didn't we?
Half a century ago, Taiwan was an island struggling with poverty, epidemics and limited resources. Today, it has one of the most accessible, affordable and equitable health systems in the world.
This success is neither the result of huge investments nor miraculous technologies. On the contrary, it is the product of a much simpler but much bolder choice: Equality and science.
With the national health insurance system they established in 1995, they included rich and poor, students and workers in the same pool. There were no privileges. At the same time, they put science at the center of the system; they standardized research, data-based decision-making, transparency and accountability. This is how the destiny of a country changed.
When I was there, I noticed this every day. Everyone who came to the hospital received the same respect, the same quality of service. Physicians were at peace, patients felt safe. The digital infrastructure worked flawlessly, bureaucracy was the burden of the system, not the patient. Most importantly, science was taken seriously there, science guided the way. Where there was science, there was justice, because where there was science, reason, not discrimination, spoke.
What about us?
Turkey has made great strides in health; hospitals have grown, technology has improved, access has expanded. These are valuable achievements. But today we have a very fundamental deficiency:
There is access, but not equality.
In one city, an MRI is done in three days, while in another city, an appointment is given for three months later.
One hospital has ten specialists while another does not even have one.
While one patient can easily access the physician of their choice, another has no choice but to wait for months.
Physicians are tired, the system is under strain and public trust is weakening.
We have made health care widespread but we have not made it fair.
We have scaled up service but scaled down equality.
We did not have the political courage to take the moral step that Taiwan took.
Because it's not just about the health system; it's about the values a country chooses as its guide. This is where Taiwan is different: Although governments have changed, the culture of equality has not. The understanding of the social state is ingrained in the common conscience of the society. Therefore, citizens trusted the state, doctors trusted the state and the state trusted society.
Where did we go wrong?
The answer is simpler than we thought:
We failed to prioritize equality.
We have failed to make science and social democracy a culture of governance.
Turkey does not need more buildings, more devices or more performance pressure.
Turkey needs to make the moral choice that Taiwan made years ago:
Not to leave the fate of anyone's health in the hands of their income, hometown or connections.
This is what social democracy is for.
To establish an order where everyone has the same rights, where no one is left behind, where the state sees its citizens as assets rather than burdens.
If Taiwan can do it, why can't we?
The answer lies far beyond health policy:
How much a country values itself.
And if we can put equality and science at the center again, Turkey is not far away from writing its own miracle.