The annual celebration of the World Health Day on 7 April is a significant event both for the Turkmen people and for all progressive humanity.
This year, on 7 April, the World Health Organization, founded on the collective initiative of the countries of the world in 1948 and aimed at strengthening human health, maintaining security in the world and serving the interests of vulnerable groups of the population, so that everyone has the opportunity to achieve the highest level of health and well-being, celebrates 75th its anniversary.
The 75th anniversary of WHO is an occasion to recall the successes that have made it possible to improve the quality of life of people over the past seven decades. This year, it is also an opportunity to promote the actions aimed at addressing urgent health challenges of today and tomorrow.
7 April 2023 is held under the slogan ‘Health for all’.
At the same time, it is necessary to emphasize the following priorities of the World Health Organization, which are reflected in enhancing the multilateral cooperation of Turkmenistan with the nations of the world and leading international structures in the field of health:
• Health for all means good health and a full life for every person in a prosperous and sustainable world without wars and conflicts.
• The right to health is one of the fundamental human rights.
• Ensuring access to universal health coverage, financial protection and strengthening the well-being of the family and society.
Turkmenistan has been a member of the World Health Organization since 1992. During the 31 years of joint cooperation, huge successes have been achieved aimed at improving the health of the population of Turkmenistan.
The right to health is one of the fundamental human rights and means that everyone should have access to health services without experiencing financial difficulties. This principle is one of the priorities of the state policy of Turkmenistan.
During the years of independence, guided by the State Program “Saglyk” of the President of Turkmenistan, a lot of work has been done to protect the health of the population, approve the principles of a healthy lifestyle, develop physical culture and mass sports. A network of modern medical institutions was created throughout the country – “Ene mähri” and emergency ambulance centers, multidisciplinary hospitals and sanatoriums, pharmaceutical enterprises. All the necessary conditions have been created to strengthen the health of the population, prevent, diagnose and treat diseases with modern innovative methods, increase human life expectancy, and ensure the availability of high-quality medical services.
The long-term positive experience of cooperation with the World Health Organization and UN agencies is evidence of the successful implementation of a number of significant joint projects and programs in various priority areas of national health, and the successes and outstanding achievements of Turkmenistan in providing public health are marked by international certificates and certificates of recognition of the elimination of dracunculosis, polio, as well as international awards on universal salt iodization, elimination of malaria, for leadership in the fortification of flour with iron and folic acid, a document confirming the absence of measles and rubella in Turkmenistan.
WHO supports Turkmenistan’s position in addressing maternal and child health issues through development of national strategies and action plans on child and adolescent health and reproductive health.
For many years of joint cooperation, the WHO Regional Office for Europe has also supported the promotion of Turkmenistan’s initiatives at the international level, having twice elected Turkmenistan to the Standing Committee of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe.
WHO and Turkmenistan are successfully cooperating in the fight against tuberculosis in order to achieve a global end to the tuberculosis epidemic by 2035. Cooperation on antimicrobial resistance and capacity-building of the public health laboratory service has been strengthened.
Within the framework of cooperation, surveillance of infectious diseases has been strengthened and preventive measures have been introduced, examples of which are the National Concept for Integrated Epidemiological Surveillance of Infectious Diseases, the National Immunization Program, and the routine immunization system.
With the support of WHO, various activities are being carried out aimed at maintaining the country’s status as a “territory free from wild polioviruses”.
Joint initiatives agreed at a high level are being successfully implemented, namely, support for Turkmenistan’s participation in the WHO special program for the study of the coronavirus genome. The national potential in the field of genetic sequencing of viruses, including influenza and SARS-CoV-2, has been enhanced. In February 2023, National laboratory specialists in the field of virology conducted genome-wide sequencing of 10 influenza virus samples, the data were sent to the platform of the Global Initiative for the Exchange of All Influenza Data (GISAID). On July 4, 2022, a high-level Subregional consultative meeting was held in Ashgabat to promote the concept of “One Health” for Central Asian countries.
In Turkmenistan, the fight against noncommunicable diseases is one of the main priorities, closely linked to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Global Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Second WHO High–level European Conference “Time to fulfill promises – to solve the tasks of combating noncommunicable diseases to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Europe”, which was held in Ashgabat in 2019, pushed for the implementation of the commitments made at the UN High-level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases, as well as measures to support countries in their implementation.
In 2024, Turkmenistan plans to hold the third high-level conference on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in honor of the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Ashgabat Declaration on Noncommunicable Diseases. It is also Turkmenistan’s political commitment to maintaining and strengthening a healthy lifestyle through the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
The effectiveness of national efforts and international partnership in this direction was highly appreciated by all participants of the forum and, first of all, by the World Health Organization and its Regional Office for Europe with the presentation of a certificate of recognition by the World Health Organization for the country’s outstanding contribution to the prevention of noncommunicable diseases on behalf of the WHO Director-General, Mr. Tedros Ghebreyesus.
The adopted National Strategy “Healthy mother – healthy child – healthy future”, the National Program to increase the immunity of the population in Turkmenistan, the National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases for 2021-2025 and the National Program to turn Turkmenistan into a tobacco-free country for 2022-2025 significantly optimized the activities of the health system.
Particular importance is attached to the development of mass physical culture and sports, the Olympic movement, and relevant national programs are being successfully realized aimed at improving primary health care, ensuring the provision of high-quality basic medical services, taking into account vulnerable groups of the population and based on the principles of justice, gender equality and respect for human rights, in order to strengthen the health and well-being of all people at any age.
A modern infrastructure has been formed in the healthcare system. Medical centers, specialized clinics, sanatoriums equipped with innovative technologies have been built in the capital and accross the country. On this basis, great success has been achieved in the formation of an advanced sports and recreation infrastructure that meets international standards.
The activities of the Charitable Foundation to assist children in need of guardianship named after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov are aimed at solving issues of public health protection, in the field of motherhood and childhood. All this is evidence of a positive result in the modernization of the national health system, improving the standard of living and well–being of every person – the highest value of Turkmen society and the state.
Most of the state budget is allocated for financing the social sphere, including the reform of health and education systems.
With the beginning of the development of a new type of coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and in recent years, Turkmenistan has been supported by WHO and UN agencies. Based on the guidelines of the WHO Strategic Plan for Preparedness and Response to COVID-19, a joint plan for Turkmenistan’s preparedness and response to acute infectious disease was approved and successfully implemented in the country, focusing on the main areas of WHO COVID-19 activities related to prevention, treatment, diagnosis and vaccination against COVID-19.
The ongoing program transformations and reforms are an effective incentive for the further development of the healthcare system and medical industry of independent neutral Turkmenistan and lay the foundation for further cooperation in the field of healthcare.
On World Health Day, Turkmenistan once again expresses its full support for WHO’s activities, thanks the Organization’s management and staff for their dedicated and professional work. Turkmenistan will continue to work closely with the World Health Organization and is ready to provide it with all possible assistance.///nCa, 7 April 2023