Ashgabat, 17 September 2021: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has delivered the first shipment of insulin to the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan (MHMIT). The first batch includes the fast-acting insulins - Actrapid and Mixtard. In the near future, UNDP plans to supply other types of insulins, injector pens and needles produced by the European manufacturers. The total cost of the supplied insulins is over $ 1.8 million.

The delivery of insulin was organized through the joint UNDP Turkmenistan and MHMIT project signed in December 2020 aiming to provide assistance to the Ministry to control the noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the country. The project with a budget of $ 32.8 million is fully funded by the Government of Turkmenistan and provides support for supply of vital medical products for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, oncological, endocrine, neurological and chronic respiratory diseases.

“UNDP supports the procurement of medical products in more than 36 countries, including Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Iran, Moldova and Turkmenistan. Procurement through international organizations allows to provide the quality medical products at the most favorable prices” - noted Mr. Rovshen Nurmuhamedov, UNDP Assistant Resident Representative in Turkmenistan. “UNDP has been purchasing medical products within the realization of the National TB Programme (NTP) of Turkmenistan since 2010 under the TB grant of the Global Fund. Since 2016, at the request of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, we also facilitate procurement of medical products for the treatment of other infectious diseases. Since 2020, our cooperation with the Government has increased covering the issues related to ​​noncommunicable diseases. UNDP stands ready to continue its support with providing a quality healthcare services now, when the globe faces big challenges and disrupted supply chains around the world.”

The procurement of medical products by UNDP is carried out centrally at the headquarters level in Copenhagen, Denmark through the international tender run on the basis of fairness and transparency. When considering proposals, compliance with the strict international medicines’ quality standards is considered. The detailed set of quality criteria can be found on the UNDP website https://www.undp.org/publications/undp-quality-assurance-policy-health-products and in the specific tender documents.

Background information

Diabetes mellitus remains one of the primary causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. According to WHO, around 422 million people are living with diabetes in the world, which is estimated to be 1 in 11 of the world's population. By 2030, the number of people with diabetes is projected to increase, especially in low and middle-income countries. Type I diabetes (formerly known as insulin-dependent) is characterized by deficient insulin production and requires daily administration of insulin. Neither the cause of type I diabetes nor the means for its prevention are known. Type II diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes) results from the body’s ineffective use of insulin and can be prevented or delayed through a healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy body weight and quitting tobacco use. Any type of diabetes can be treated, and its complications can be avoided or delayed through a healthy diet, physical activity, treatment, and regular medical check-ups.

The year 2022 will mark the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin by the scientists at the University of Toronto, F. MacLeod and J. Banting, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. To mark the 100th anniversary, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Diabetes Compact initiative to accelerate actions on diabetes prevention and treatment for all people in the world.