Promoting the health of pregnant women, mothers and newborns

Context

The Tajik government cannot adequately ensure the quality of primary health care. Facilities in this area are therefore insufficiently equipped. Furthermore, large parts of the population do not accept or use them.

The Tajik health system has a hospital-centred structure. In addition, the infrastructure of health facilities and centres in rural areas and in urban polyclinics is generally inadequate and outdated. In remote areas, in particular, there is a shortage of skilled family doctors to provide prenatal care, for example. Women with high-risk pregnancies are therefore not diagnosed and referred to the appropriate hospitals in time. This results in the preventable death of women due to pregnancy and birth and a comparatively high infant mortality rate.

Objective

The Tajik government is successfully implementing its national health strategy to improve medical care, especially for pregnant women, mothers and newborns.

Approach

The project primarily aims to improve the quality of primary health care. It advises the Tajik Ministry of Health on developing standards, monitoring quality, managing referrals and maintaining medical equipment. In addition, the primary health care facilities receive basic equipment, technical training – for example in dealing with infection control – and organisational and process consulting. The project also supports training for family doctors, nurses and midwives in the partner districts.

This project is supported by funding from the EU.

Last update: August 2022