2005 Press Releases

 

U.S. Government Donates U.S. $120,000 of Laboratory Equipment to Turkmenistan

Feb. 8, 2005

On February 8, 2005, a handover ceremony marked the donation of six sets of serological laboratory equipment from the U.S. Government to the Turkmenistan Ministry of Health. U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan Tracey Ann Jacobson and the Turkmenistan First Deputy Minister of Health Biashim Sopiev participated in the ceremony.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Central Asia Regional Program (CDC/CAR), with the financial support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has provided six laboratories, each with a complete set of laboratory equipment for effective blood testing. Each set includes an automated ELISA reader and washer, incubator, centrifuge, water purification system, refrigerator, computer, pipettes, and additional laboratory supplies used for a wide variety of tests. The value of the laboratory equipment totals approximately $120,000.

The six sets of laboratory equipment will be distributed to all blood banks, including Ashgabat, Dashoguz, Turkmenabat, Mary, Balkanabat and Abadan. The donation of these six laboratories is part of a comprehensive laboratory improvement and training program to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases in Turkmenistan and Central Asia. This laboratory equipment will increase the accuracy of HIV and other test results, which can improve the country's response to infections. The information will shape educational campaigns, patient care, and community mobilization to reduce the risk of infections transmission through donor's blood.

CDC/CAR's activities in Turkmenistan focus on reducing the burden of infectious diseases, primarily HIV and tuberculosis (TB). CDC's strategy is twofold: to improve local capacity in surveillance and prevention, by strengthening laboratory and epidemiological systems, and to build on these capacities by building programs that positively impact the health of the people of Turkmenistan. CDC is recognized as a leading governmental agency for protecting the health and safety of people both within the U.S. and internationally.

USAID provides economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 100 countries to provide a better future for all.

For more information, please contact the CDC/CAR office in Almaty, msinclair@usaid.gov, or see the USAID/CAR website at www.usaid.gov keyword: CAR.