Students Discuss Safe Motherhood Programs at a USAID-Supported Conference

PAS No 236
April 4, 2009

Students making their presentations at the conference

Ashgabat, April 4, 2009 – Today, the Turkmen State Medical Institute with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project “ZdravPlus” held an interactive Students’ Conference on Safe Motherhood at the Maternal and Child Health Institute.

The conference included representatives of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, Health Information Center, and international organizations, as well as health professionals and students from the Medical Institute and the Maternal and Child Health Institute.  Dr. Gulya Murrikova, Deputy Director of the Maternal and Child Health Institute gave a presentation on issues related to maternal and child health in Turkmenistan.  She analyzed the implementation of the National Safe Motherhood program and the introduction of the World Health Organization’s standards on effective perinatal care.  Dr. Murrikova also reviewed prenatal care services and their standardization at the hospital and primary care levels.  Additionally, Sixth-year medical school students made presentations on pre-term delivery, infections during pregnancy, pelvic presentation, and antenatal care.

Students making their presentations at the conference

The Turkmen National Safe Motherhood Program, designed with support from USAID and approved in 2006, identifies measures for decreasing maternal and child death rates in the country.  The program seeks to improve basic antenatal and maternity care, as well as increase access to health-related information and services.  USAID supports this program by training health workers in quality care to mother and newborn during labor, delivery, and postpartum.

This is one of many activities made possible by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  Since 1993 the American people through USAID have provided more than $80 million in assistance programs that support economic growth, community initiatives, expanded access to information, health care, and education systems in Turkmenistan.