UNDP and the Government of Turkmenistan expand cooperation to create sustainable health systems
27 February the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan signed new projects on health to improve access to treatment of the noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and enhance national capacity for clinical laboratory diagnostics.
“We are happy to note the increased collaboration between UNDP and the Government of Turkmenistan on strengthening health system of the country, which demonstrates a growing trust in UNDP as a strategic partner to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, by ensuring no one is left behind,”- said Ms. Narine Sahakyan, UNDP Resident Representative in Turkmenistan.
More specifically, UNDP launched the following new joint projects to support the national efforts to strengthen the country’s health system:
The project “Provision of medicines necessary for prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases and for maternal and child health in Turkmenistan in 2023-2024”, which is aimed at strengthening the national health systems capacities to control the noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), rare diseases, and improve maternal and newborn health in Turkmenistan. . The project will ensure access to free, good quality, available, affordable medicines across the country through the provision of medicines for treatment of NCDs and other diseases. This project will continue providing quality and affordable medicines initiated by the first NCD project between UNDP and MoHMI for 2020-2021. Notably, the project includes: i) the provision of medicines for rare and orphan diseases which are very costly, making the patients with the rare and orphan diseases most vulnerable to financial hardships; ii) provision of essential medicines for NCD patients, including the most vulnerable people; iii) contribute to women’s health by providing medicines for pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal period;
The project “Strengthening clinical laboratory services in Turkmenistan in 2023-2024” will focus on strengthening the national health system’s capacity for clinical laboratory diagnostics of diseases. The project will support health services to ensure 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. Important to note that the project will support laboratories of primary health care which serve most of the population. The availability of lab services at the PHC level in close proximity to the place of residence, reduces gender-related barriers and ensures equal access to a full range of lab investigations for women and girls, including lab investigations during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal period. The project will particularly help vulnerable people with access to lab services by reducing the cost of the services and the cost of transportation if such services are not available at PHC.
It is expected that both projects, fully funded by the Government of Turkmenistan with a total budget of around 78 million US dollars, will help Turkmenistan to contribute significantly to the achievement of the universal health coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Ensuring Universal Health Coverage in the country and enhancing the resilience of the national health system to pandemics and acute diseases is one of the main areas of our cooperation with indeed impressive results. The volume of our past and ongoing cooperation only on health totals approximately $150 million, with the vast contribution coming from the government of Turkmenistan,” – said Ms. Sahakyan. “The remarkable achievements and outstanding collaboration between UNDP and Turkmenistan on public health have been reflected in the letters of recognition and appreciation from the UNDP Administrator and the Global Fund Executive Director addressed to His Excellency President of Turkmenistan, demonstrating readiness of UNDP and our partners to further improve national health system, leaving no one behind”.
UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and exclusion, and build resilience so countries can sustain progress. As the UN’s development agency, UNDP plays a critical role in helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Related items
-
Transit geography: Turkmenistan invites partners to create cargo corridors
Turkmenistan, due to its geographical location, occupies an important place in the global supply chain. The country intends to use this advantage and create economically profitable transport corridors that contribute to the development of international trade, attract large investments in transport infrastructure to increase transit attractiveness. This was stated by the Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Mammethan Chakyyev.
Speaking at the conference "International Transport and Transit Corridors: Interconnectedness and Development - 2023", he noted that the high interest of participants in this event shows the relevance of a dialogue of this format, which gives grounds to make these meetings a tradition.
Mammethan Chakyyev briefly presented the main aspects of the Program for the development of Transport Diplomacy of Turkmenistan for 2022-2025, which provides for strategically important measures for the comprehensive modernization of the material and technical base of all types of transport, the formation of modern profile infrastructure, further strengthening the country's position as a regional center of international transport and transit corridors.Turkmenistan cooperates with other countries of the region to develop agreed mechanisms and infrastructure conditions for trade facilitation and e-commerce, strengthening economic ties and increasing trade with partners in the region.
In less than a year after the first forum "International Transport and Transit Corridors: Interconnectedness and development", significant events took place in the country. Among them is the Conference of Ministers of Transport of Landlocked Developing Countries, Turkmenistan's accession to the e-CMR Protocol, a request has been submitted to join the TRACECA and North-South international corridors. New automobile terminals in regional centers, railway bridges were also put into operation, many passenger cars, railway rolling stock were purchased, Airbus cargo planes were purchased, the geography of cargo and passenger routes of the national air carrier, covering Europe and Asia, expanded.
Today's challenges and changes in the global economy require from us not only modernization, but also innovative solutions. Therefore, the creation of new transport corridors and infrastructures based on digital technologies and environmentally friendly solutions can become a driver of economic growth in our country and the entire region. Said Chakyyev.
The transport conference, which opened on Wednesday, is attended by high-ranking representatives of the Government of Turkmenistan, heads of national and international transport companies, industrial zones, companies in the field of e-commerce, management of logistics organizations and major international financial institutions.
Speakers and moderators at the forum sessions are authoritative figures, well-known diplomats and experts from all over the world. They speak out on the most relevant topics related to the transport and logistics sector, its digitalization, noting the role of public-private partnership, science and education in the development of digital trade and logistics.
Many participants brought with them concrete investment proposals and promising partnership projects, which were discussed during separate bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the forum, which was distinguished by high business activity.
-
On May 4, 2023, at the Olympic Stadium, located in the capital's Olympic Village, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov met with President of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) Gianni Infantino.
Greeting the guest on the ancient and hospitable Turkmen land, the head of state first of all congratulated him on his re-election as the President of the International Federation of Football Associations and wished him new success in the development of football around the world.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov stressed that he keeps the warmest memories of their meeting last December in Doha (State of Qatar), where one of the matches of the World Cup was held, at which an invitation to visit Turkmenistan was accepted.
Expressing gratitude for the invitation to visit Turkmenistan and the time allotted for a personal meeting, the head of FIFA sincerely thanked President Serdar Berdimuhamedov for the warm welcome and the opportunity to see the achievements of modern Turkmenistan with his own eyes.
Speaking about the main milestones in the development of domestic football, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that the Football Federation of Turkmenistan was established in 1992. In the same year, games of the National Major League of Turkmenistan and tournaments for the Cup of Turkmenistan begin to be held. In 1994, the Football Federation of Turkmenistan became a member of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.
As noted, the Football Federation of Turkmenistan pays great attention to the development of children's football. As a result, since 2000, with the active participation of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan and UNICEF, together with FIFA, Grassroots football festivals have been held on a regular basis from March to November, in which football players of various ages take part.
Every year, the Football Federation of Turkmenistan, together with FIFA, holds international seminars in our country to improve the skills of football and mini-football referees, as a result of which referees who have successfully passed the tests receive the status of an international class referee.
During the meeting, the guest presented the head of Turkmenistan with a symbolic gift - a personalized T-shirt, an official ball and a FIFA pennant.
Thanking the Turkmen side for the willingness and desire to further intensify cooperation in the field of sports, the President of the International Federation of Football Associations highly appreciated the large-scale work carried out in the country to popularize the mass physical culture and health improvement movement and elite sports.
-
The Turkmen delegation took part in the 9th regional meeting of the National Committees on Trade Facilitation in Central Asia in Tashkent. This is reported by the website of the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan.
The central theme of the event, organized within the framework of the project of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), was the discussion of trade facilitation issues. In particular, initiatives to digitalize trade procedures and improve access to information for the private sector were considered.
In this regard, representatives of the World Trade Center familiarized the participants with the work of Trading Portal, which was recently established in Turkmenistan.
Representatives of the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan together with experts of the International Union of Road Transport and employees of the State Customs Committee under the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Uzbekistan also visited the customs post "Yallama" on the Uzbek-Kazakh border.
-
The Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan Serdar Jorayev held a meeting with the Director of the Regional Center for the Development of the Potential of Countries for the Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia at the IMF, Norbert Funke, who arrived in Ashgabat at the head of the delegation of the Center.
The parties discussed new directions of further technical cooperation, which is designed to promote transformations in the field of finance in Turkmenistan and increase the potential of the national economy.
As reported, since 2021, representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan have participated in more than two dozen trainings of the Center, which were devoted to various issues. The participation was both online and in the traditional format.
Funke expressed satisfaction with the development of the Center's cooperation with Turkmenistan and informed about the availability of opportunities for expanding the range of technical cooperation. In this regard, the participants of the meeting exchanged relevant proposals.
The head of the Center noted that in addition to regional consultations, there is an opportunity to organize bilateral contacts, within the framework of which specialists will provide technical support to Turkmen colleagues on public finance management, revenue management and administration.
In general, the parties noted with satisfaction the existence of significant potential for further expansion of cooperation.
-
The exhibition "International Transport and Transit Corridors: Interconnection and Development - 2023" (ITTC—2023) continues in Ashgabat, attended by representatives of more than 80 institutions and companies.
The solid composition of the participants of the show demonstrates the growing interest of the international community and large companies in cooperation with Turkmenistan in the transport sector.
The exhibition presents specialized transport institutions of Turkmenistan — agencies "Turkmendenizyollary", "Turkmenavtoulaglary", "Turkmendemiryollary", "Turkmenhovayollary", as well as dozens of Turkmen transport companies.
Well—known foreign air carriers, such as Fly Dubai and Turkish Airlines, railway companies — Russian Railways Holding, Kazakhstan Railways, as well as well-known manufacturers of equipment and components - Boeing, CRRC Ziyang Co., Ltd., Toyota, Michelin, Hankook, etc. showed interest in the forum.
In addition to the companies represented at the exhibition, hundreds of delegates of the ITTC-2023 conference attend the show, which will begin work at the CCI in the afternoon. One of the forum participants — Chairman of the Board of the Iranian transport and logistics company Behine Tarabar Azhur Mustafa Akdam shared his impressions of the exhibition with a representative of ORIENT:
— The exhibition is organized perfectly. We also have high hopes for the conference, which will be a great place to establish new contacts and effective communication. First of all, our company is interested in realizing our common transport and transit potential, including within the framework of the North—South corridor. There are great prospects in the development of railway transportation. We hope for further strengthening of cooperation," Akdam said.
