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UNDP Turkmenistan
ACCESS TO INCLUSIVE HEALTH SERVICES
Programme at a glance
Investments in health are essential for the acceleration of the 2030 Agenda. UNDP contributes to ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages in Turkmenistan applying multisectoral, rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches.
Together with the government of Turkmenistan and development partners, UNDP implements projects covering a wide range of medical services to ensure Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the country and enhance the resilience of the national health system to pandemics and acute diseases. The volume of our past and ongoing cooperation on health totals approximately 150 million USD, with the contributions coming from the government of Turkmenistan, Global Fund and the World Bank, resulting in an outstanding collaboration with Turkmenistan on public health.
UNDP supports the country in strengthening healthcare systems by improving quality health services and providing quality-assured medicines, which is essential for preventing and controlling of both communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) throughout the country. To improve public health and wellbeing, we ensure access to free, good quality, available and affordable medicines in Turkmenistan.
Through the development of clinical laboratory services UNDP builds the national health system’s capacity for clinical laboratory diagnostics of diseases and ensures availability, accessibility, reliability, and most-up-to-date laboratory services for accurate and timely diagnosis of the most common diseases.
UNDP and partners have been instrumental in supporting the government of Turkmenistan to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen national public health preparedness systems to respond to global pandemics.
As a result of many years of cooperation with UNDP, the epidemiological situation with tuberculosis has improved significantly. To date, UNDP and the Government of Turkmenistan have jointly implemented grants worth more than $33 million. In addition to introducing international standards for the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, significant efforts have been made to foster a gradual transition to full state funding of the national anti-tuberculosis programme.
UNDP in Turkmenistan will continue to support the country in enhancing the capacity of national systems for public health and improving the affordability, accessibility and quality of healthcare systems.
In-depth
CONTROLLING COMMUNICABLE DISEASES BY TIMELY DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
In Turkmenistan, UNDP strengthens health and social protection system performance to deliver higher quality and more inclusive services, focusing on controlling tuberculosis and other infectious diseases and resulting in increased prevention and response of the national capacities for pandemics.
Preventing infections and ensuring accessible, timely and accurate tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis is vital to ending the epidemic by 2030, as set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The government of Turkmenistan is committed to combat tuberculosis and other communicable diseases and currently provides funds for the majority of the relevant programmes, which is an impressive result of a long-term and growing partnership with UNDP on ensuring access to inclusive health services in Turkmenistan.
Controlling TB
Since 2010, with the financial and technical support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF) and in close partnership with the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan (MoHMIT) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan, significant progress was achieved in controlling tuberculosis. The patient adherence support programme was introduced through the Global Fund grant for the first time in Turkmenistan.
Over the past 12 years, in addition to the introduction of international standards for the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, significant efforts have been made to ensure the gradual transition to full state funding of anti-tuberculosis programs. UNDP partners with the Global Fund to ensure a smooth transition of all grant activities to full state funding by 2024. Until then, the grant funding will continue supporting the diagnosis and treatment of the most expensive and technically challenging interventions for drug-resistant tuberculosis.
UNDP has established productive relations with the local WHO office, National Red Crescent Society of Turkmenistan, as well with the global anti-TB initiatives, such as the Stop TB Partnership to provide the most effective services to meet national TB control targets, that are guided by the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in Turkmenistan for years 2021 – 2025. Our joint efforts are aimed at decreasing the burden of TB in Turkmenistan by ensuring universal access to timely and quality diagnosis and treatment of all forms of TB. We apply people-centered strategic interventions to control TB in the country, focusing on strengthening human resources for provision of health services, in-country laboratory and testing capacity building, providing anti-TB drug supplies, and raising communities’ awareness of TB to challenge stigma and discrimination.
UNDP will continue strengthening the sustainability of the previous achievements made with the support of the GF investments and supporting progressive government co-financing of all key interventions on TB by 2024 to ensure sustainability and self-reliance of the National TB Programme (NTP) by 2025.
More than 95% of patients are tested for drug resistance to receive accurate treatment.
COVID-19 PREPAREDNESS
COVID-19 and other severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) have not only become a global health crisis, but also threatened to create devastating social and economic consequences that reversed development gains achieved over decades by the global community.
Preventing, detecting and responding to this new infection, and strengthening national systems for public health preparedness in Turkmenistan became vitally critical in the fight against the pandemic. We provided emergency support to the country's COVID-19 control and containment interventions, supported efforts to reduce the burden of other infectious and non-communicable diseases and reinforced the national health systems capacities to prepare and respond to pandemics. All these measures were implemented in line with the “Turkmenistan’s Acute Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plan” (CPRP), adopted in May 2020 and supported by the GF funding for anti-COVID measures and the TB programme in the country.
UNDP, in partnership with the government of Turkmenistan, UNICEF and WHO, and with the support of the World Bank (WB), has largely contributed to ensuring response to the global COVID-19 pandemic in line with the goals of the CPRP. With the $20 million loan from the WB and a $3.0 million grant from the GF, UNDP and MoHMIT teamed up to strengthen national health capacity for early detection, prevention and treatment of SARI and COVID-19.
In helping the country to respond and prepare for COVID-19 global pandemic we joined forces with partners to strengthen the national testing and treatment capacities, upgrade the skills of medical workers, procure clinical laboratory reagents and strengthen the capacity of the national laboratory service, deliver quality medicines, various medical and disinfection equipment, and address environmental and social risks. We supported the introduction of digital solutions for infectious disease surveillance, prevention and control to strengthen the national healthcare system of the country and reinforce its response and preparedness for current and future pandemics.
15 units of medical waste disposal equipment were installed in health care facilities within the implementation of the Infection Control and Waste Management Plan (ICWMP).
UNDP and the MoHMIT have developed and operationalized the three important documents – “Environment and Social Management Framework” (ESMF), Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), Infection Control and Waste Management Plan to raise public awareness of COVID-19, involve various stakeholders, raise awareness on COVID-19/SARI infection prevention measures to manage the grievances adequately and ensure transparency in response to the pandemic. These documents serve as the main tools for identifying, assessing and managing environmental and social risks caused by the crisis.
To help the country to respond to this global pandemic, UNDP in partnership with WHO and UNICEF improved the skills of medical workers and developed and implemented Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Plan to develop and disseminate messages to the public and create feedback mechanisms during health emergencies.
Strengthening Public Health Laboratory Services
Turkmenistan has made remarkable progress in the control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, focusing on upgrading treatment capacities, supply of necessary equipment and medicines and strengthening laboratory services to enhance the existing Primary Health Care (PHC) performance and to ensure the highest possible level of health and well-being in the country.
With significant financial support from the government of Turkmenistan, UNDP improves public health and well-being in the country, including strengthening the national health system’s capacity for clinical laboratory diagnostics of diseases. In strong cooperation with the MoHMIT, we work on strengthening laboratory capacities of primary healthcare facilities – health houses and polyclinics, etrap level hospitals, and intensive units in Turkmenistan ensuring availability, accessibility, reliability, and most-up-to-date laboratory investigations for accurate and timely diagnosis of the most common diseases, such as common infectious, non-infectious diseases, surgery, emergency cases, maternal and child health, and other.
Together with the government we will continue to equip laboratories at the etrap and velayat levels, allowing patients from rural and remote areas of the country to access improved laboratory services and strengthen the country’s diagnostics capacity in healthcare.
UNDP continues its work on ensuring the availability of lab services near the place of residence, which reduces gender-related barriers and ensures equal access to a full range of laboratory investigations for women and girls, including lab services during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal period, as well as provides vulnerable people with better access to laboratory services by reducing the cost of services and the cost of transportation.
Together with the Government we equip laboratories at the etrap and velayat levels, allowing patients from rural and remote areas to access improved laboratory services.
PROVISION OF ESSENTIAL MEDICINES TO PREVENT AND TREAT NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease, are collectively responsible for 74% of all deaths worldwide.[i] The government of Turkmenistan prioritizes public health and places particular emphasis on reducing the economic burden associated with non-communicable diseases. We strengthen the capacity of the national health system to control NCDs, and rare diseases, and improve maternal and newborn health in Turkmenistan by providing technical support and bringing global knowledge and expertise, as well as raising awareness about NCDs.
To strengthen the country’s healthcare system, UNDP in Turkmenistan provides quality, affordable medicines for the treatment of NCDs and other diseases. From 2021 to 2023 alone, 32 million USD funding was provided to the government of Turkmenistan. UNDP delivered more than 100 vital medical products and made cost-efficiency savings of about $ 14 million. The medicines were distributed in medical facilities in Ashgabat, velayat specialized clinics and primary healthcare facilities.
With the support of UNDP, the national programs to combat NCDs are provided with quality drugs: insulin, drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, oncological, endocrine, neurological and chronic respiratory diseases, contributing to the quality and free treatment of patients throughout the country.
UNDP and MoHMIT started the implementation of the second NCD project with a budget of $60 million. This initiative includes the provision of emergency medicines critical to reducing maternal and neonatal deaths to complement the efforts of other UN Agencies in Turkmenistan in healthcare, as well as medicines for the treatment of rare and orphan diseases.
In addition to the provision of medicines, UNDP’s support includes technical assistance in updating national treatment protocols and building capacities of national specialists to make NCDs treatment more affordable, inclusive, accessible and cost-effective.
UNDP actively supports national digital development priorities and offers its support in introducing digital solutions in health to harness the power of digital technologies and innovation to accelerate attainment of health and the well-being of the population.
[i] https://www.who.int/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases#tab=tab_1
In 2021-2023 UNDP provided more than 100 essential medicines for NCDs patients, including the most vulnerable groups.
