2001 Press Releases

Primary Health Care Training Center Opening

May 11, 2001

AIHA, US Partners Join the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan

On May 14, 2001, the American International Health Alliance (AIHA), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan (MOHMI), and US partners from North Dakota will open a model Primary Health Care Training Center at Health House #1. Among the dignitaries expected to attend the opening ceremony are the US Ambassador to Turkmenistan, the Vice Prime Minister, and the Minister of Health and Medical Industry.

Under cooperative agreements with USAID, AIHA develops and manages partnerships between health care institutions in the United States and their counterparts in the NIS. Over the past seven years, AIHA has supported a number of successful partnership activities in Turkmenistan that have led to important changes in various areas of health care, including improved delivery of emergency care services through the development of an Emergency Medical Services Training Center in Ashgabat.

Based upon this record of success, the Government of Turkmenistan in 1998 formally requested the assistance of the United States and AIHA in helping to strengthen the country's primary health care (PHC) system. With the concurrence of USAID, AIHA established a partnership between North Dakota and Ashgabat, with the aim of developing a model skills-based primary care curriculum and retraining program for physicians, nurses and feldshers. The Center will serve as a national center of excellence and is expect to eventually train the over 9,700 family doctors, family nurses and family feldshers currently working in Turkmenistan. The unique one-month curriculum was jointly developed by US and Turkmen partners and focuses on hands-on, low-tech skills for assessment, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring as well as on health promotion and illness prevention in the clinic and home settings. The courses, which emphasize a team approach within the practice setting, will be taught by qualified Turkmen physician-nurse instructor teams who have received basic and advanced training provided by the US partners in North Dakota and Ashgabat. The Center will conduct its first course on May 21.

Development of the PHC Training Center is consistent with the commitment of AIHA and USAID to support collaborative efforts of US and Turkmen health professionals and their respective communities to improve basic health care services for the people of Turkmenistan and to create capacity within the country for sustainable improvement. Development of the Center also directly supports Presidential Order #55 "Improving the Organization of Primary Health Care by Implementing Family Practices for Serving the Population" issues on April 1, 1997.

The facility for the PHC Training Center was renovated and furnished by the MOHMI, with additional support from AIHA. The Center, equipped by AIHA with office and training equipment and supplies, includes a Learning Resource Center with computers, and Internet/e-mail access to enable the Center staff to communicate electronically with their partners, AIHA and other PHC Centers.

The partnership is represented on the US side by the University of North Dakota which leads a consortium including family health centers and medical centers throughout the state, as well as the North Dakota State Health Department. In addition to the wealth of technical expertise and resources brought to bear by consortium members, numerous community-based organizations have become involved in supporting the partnership through a major grassroots network involving over 100 communities throughout North Dakota. The effort, called "Project Love", has assembled thousands of new layette sets for the families of newborns in Turkmenistan. As US Congressman Earl Pomeroy stated, "Crossing geographic and cultural boundaries, Turkmenistan has become North Dakota’s neighbor."