Turkish Family Health and Planning Foundation (TÜRKIYE AİLE SAĞLIĞI VE PLANLAMASI VAKFI, TAPV), also known as the TURKISH FAMILY PLANNING FOUNDATION or the TAP FOUNDATION, a foundation which supports a balanced population growth in line with Turkey’s economic and social development. It is one of the civil society organizations supported by the Vehbi Koç Foundation.
TAPV was founded in November 1985 by business people, union leaders, academics, the chair of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and the chair of the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen under the leadership of Vehbi Koç. The foundation, which began its work in January 1986, aims to improve the quality of life of individuals, particularly young people, families and society as a whole. Its area of work includes reproductive, sexual and mother and baby health, and improving the social status of women in families and society.
TAPV aims to provide families with the necessary information, materials and services required to ensure that they have the number of children that they choose. It prepares educational materials, gathers data and carries out research to educate the public and those working in related fields about family planning.
In 1988, the foundation began its Family Planning Campaign. The Ministry of Health and Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) worked in partnership to create a TV series, films and documentaries on the subject. It also funded the production of a film dealing with related issues, Berdel (1990). The film, directed by Atıf Yılmaz, won numerous awards, including the 1991 Global Media Award from the Population Institute based in the USA.
In partnership with the Ministry of Health and various institutions, TAPV established family planning clinics in Bursa, Diyarbakır, Istanbul, Izmir and Mardin. Studies on reproductive health and family planning were carried out in Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Denizli and Trabzon. In 1995, the Developing Support for Women Group (KİDOG) was founded together with 19 non-governmental organizations to work for women’s education, health and legal rights. It developed programs about reproduction and sexuality for young people. Today, it leads programs on healthy motherhood, sexual and women’s health, working with teenagers and young people. As part of the “For My Country” project initiated by Koç Holding in 2006, TAPV was among the groups active around the theme “I Support Gender Equality”, which was adopted for the 2015-17 period.
TAPV received the 1994 United Nations (UN) Population Award for its work on managing population growth.