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Huge health improvement project sees four thousand medical professionals trained in life saving skills

TASHKENT 7 July 2009, officials from UNICEF, the EU and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health met today to mark a year’s progress for mothers and children. By December 2010, 14,000 health workers will be trained in improved maternal and child care. One year in, four thousand of these are already sharing their skills throughout the country.

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes. This project is doing good helping mothers and families,” said William Hanna, Head of Unit for Centralised Operations for Asia and Central Asia in the European Commissions Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid, “It’s an excellent example of what we can do together and it’s a great example of how the EU is helping people and development. I want people at home to fully understand the good work we’re doing here - and I’ll be taking the message back to Brussels with me.” he said.

EC and UNICEF officials open a new maternal and child health training centre in Samarkand

The Improvement of Mother and Child Health Services (IMCHS) project in Uzbekistan was launched in July 2008 with a total budget of almost $6 million, of which the EU provided $5.5 million and UNICEF $450,000.

Today’s meeting, chaired by Mr A. Kamilov, Deputy Minister of health, evaluated progress to date and charted a course for the future.

Beating expectations

The 4,000 medical workers trained to date are now fully capable of sharing the latest practices in emergency newborn care and childcare in maternity wards, polyclinics and primary healthcare facilities. 12 of the 17 planned training centres are already decked out with new kit to ensure quality care.

Dr. Hari Krishna Banskota, UNICEF’s project manager, noted the project’s key achievements and challenges so far. ‘The offer of training and materials was met with overwhelming demand” he said. “So we’re now upping the projected numbers for training from 14,000 to 19,000 by the end of 2010.”

On the home stretch

Partners reaffirmed their determination to see the project through. “The project already spans half the country, yet much more needs to be done. I hope the project will also bring systemic changes into effect” he said

Bringing modern standards into university medical curricula and creating a national certification system for medical institutes and practitioners are some of remaining challenges to meet and beat.

Mr Kamilov, Deputy Minister of Health, called for further cooperation, “we shouldn’t stop at 2010 – if projects such as this continue it will bring Uzbekistan closer to meeting the millennium development goals.”

New training centre opened

To coincide with the one year review Mr William Hanna, from the European Commissions EuropeAid office, inaugurated a new training centre in Samarkand.

Mr Hanna was pleased to note the competent project leadership by the Ministry of Health and met with doctors and project leaders on the ground. They explained how training in the integrated management of childhood illness Protocol (IMCI) has helped to better triage sick children and to make less and better use of drugs for diseases like pneumonia among other successes.