A round table dedicated to the launch of the project “Comprehensive maternal and child health services” was held today in Dushanbe at the initiative of the Ministry of Health фnd Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Asian Development Bank.
Minister of Health and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Tajikistan Nasim Olimzoda, ADB’s Country Director for Tajikistan Pradeep Srivastava, head of the WHO Representative Office in Tajikistan Martha Everard and other representatives of the health sector of the republic took part and spoke at the round table.
“Experience has shown that bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the ADB is constantly enhanced through the implementation of various projects in the field of health and gives positive results. Most importantly, these projects will contribute to the development of the sector and improve the health of Tajik citizens,” noted Nasim Olimzoda in his speech.
“In accordance with the Governmental Decree of Tajikistan dated August 1, 2010, the National Health Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan for 2010-2020 was adopted, which is one of the main directions in the field of healthcare. It focuses on four areas such as medical care, human resources, financing and healthcare management, annually summarizes with local authorities, international organizations, healthcare professionals and discusses their suggestions, problems and solutions at this meeting,” continued Olimzoda.
“One of the key areas of the strategy is to reduce maternal and infant mortality. In this regard, timely registration of pregnant women was improved and access to contraceptives for women was expanded. These measures have contributed to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality in the country from year to year,” mentioned Olimzoda.
Martha Everard noted with satisfaction that since 2015, maternal and infant mortality worldwide has decreased. Tajikistan has also seen a decline in infant and child mortality.
According to Everard, Tajikistan has made significant progress in reducing child malnutrition today: its rate has dropped from 26 to 17 percent.
“It is worth noting that investment in health care is important, and constant attention needs to be paid to this area. Because the health of mothers and children is the wealth of the state and government,” concluded Evevard.
It should be noted that the project “Comprehensive maternal and child health services” (ADB’s grant 0627-TAJ (SF)) of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population of the country was approved by the Decree of Majlisi Namoyandagon of Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan dated March 6, 2019. The project begins on March 29 and runs through August 31, 2025.
The project’s main goal is to improve comprehensive maternal and child health services.
We will recall that the total cost of the project is US $35.2 million, of which US $3.2 million is the contribution of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.
