Izmir Municipality Launches Child‑Rights Program with UNICEF and Ege Sağlık Vakfı

The İzmir Metropolitan Municipality announced a partnership with UNICEF Turkey and the Ege Health Foundation to monitor and advocate for child rights in the city. Funded jointly by the EU Delegation to Turkey and UNICEF’s ACAR programme, the initiative will operate through women’s solidarity centres that serve as hubs for child‑focused data collection and policy advocacy.

The project targets roughly 1,000 children across 14 women’s solidarity centres, aiming to generate evidence‑based recommendations for strengthening child‑friendly local policies. Coordination is led by Prof. Dr. Hande Şahin of İzmir Democracy University. At the launch meeting, Anıl Kaçar, head of the municipality’s Women and Family Services Department, emphasized the importance of a child‑friendly city approach; Dr. Oğulcan Çelik, UNICEF ACAR programme officer, outlined the programme’s goals; and Aynur Demirtaş Ergun, director of Ege Health Foundation, highlighted the role of civil‑society collaboration.