2003 Press Releases
Healthy Community Grants Program Awards First Grants
May 23, 2003
On Friday, May 23, the USAID funded Healthy Communities Grant Program awarded its first round of grant support to public organizations working to improve health in their communities. United States Ambassador Laura Kennedy congratulated recipient organizations and awarded the Certificates of recognition at a 3:00 pm reception at the Counterpart office in Ashgabat.
The goal of the Healthy Communities Grant Program is to empower community groups to implement projects that will either improve the health status of the population or heighten population awareness of health topics through community mobilization and education projects. It works to build the capacity of local populations to play a role in improving their own health, and is about people helping people to create improvements in health step-by-step and community by community.
The program awards two kinds of grants, health grants and community action grants. Community improvement action grants aim to address community-identified needs and to include the community in the implementation of the program at all stages. Health grants also work to address the health needs of the community, but they may include those needs which are identified by Health NGOs with preferable involvement of local health workers.
Counterpart is an international organization which has been working in Central Asia since 1994 to support and develop the local NGO sector. The organization offers training, grants, and other assistance to NGOs and community groups through a network of 34 Civil Society Support Centers throughout Central Asia.
The ZdravPlus program, and its predecessor ZdravReform, have been active in strengthening the health care system in Central Asia since 1995. Under the auspices of Abt Associates, a US-based development corporation, the Zdrav Programs have worked with the Ministries of Health, health care providers, community groups, and individuals to make systemic improvements in the health care system in the five countries of Central Asia.
For more information, please contact:
Nafisa Yuldasheva, Healthy Communities Grant program Coordinator, Ashgabat city, Academician Petrov street, 26; tel. 35 71 20, 35 71 25, 35 70 05
Natalya Basova, ZdravPlus Program Coordinator, Ashgabat city, Gorogly street, 43 #4, tel. 34 42 42.
