The relationship between swamps and malaria: a review of the studies titled The Sanitary and Social Geography of Turkey.

This study examines the multidimensional impact of infectious diseases on societies through the case of malaria, with particular emphasis on the anti-malaria campaigns implemented in Türkiye during the early Republican period within the framework of the studies titled The Sanitary and Social Geography of Turkey. These works constitute primary-source materials that systematically document the country's health conditions, social structure, and geographical characteristics during the early years of the Republic. In this study, data on swamps and malaria contained in these publications were analysed through a systematic document analysis and regional comparative approach. The findings demonstrate that the relationship between swamps and malaria varied considerably across provinces. While a strong positive association was identified along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts and in the major river deltas, this relationship was substantially weaker in the high-altitude regions of Eastern Anatolia. Furthermore, the effectiveness of swamp-drainage programmes in controlling malaria remained limited due to factors such as fragmented implementation, recurrent flooding, and irrigation projects. The analysis also indicates that agricultural activities, particularly rice cultivation, contributed to the spread of malaria by creating artificial swamp environments. Consequently, malaria control emerged as a central policy domain during the early Republican period, becoming closely integrated with the state's broader strategies of nation-building and socio-economic development.