Turkey made it into a compendium of good practices in a Europe-wide Tuberculosis Action Plan with a cash assistance program for chronically ill patients.

Minister of Family, Labor and Social Services Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk told Anadolu Agency that the assistance program launched in January 2018 was now an example of "good practice" according to World Health Organization (WHO).

A WHO report says that although Turkey provides free diagnosis, care and treatment for tuberculosis patients, the disease brings an additional financial burden to tuberculosis patients and their families because of their inability to work when ill and the possibility that they may be the primary income earners of their households.

Selçuk says the cash assistance program is designed for citizens from households where monthly income per person in the household is less than two-thirds of the net minimum wage. "We pay TL 1,384 to households to support them economically. We also pay TL 600 for bedridden citizens in need of improvement in their household and dependent on others for care," she said. The minister said that as of October 2019, some 4,174 people received TL 31.51 million in total as part of an aid program for the chronically ill.