FACT SHEET

Public Affairs Section
U.S. Embassy, Ashgabat
Friday, March 6, 2009

Recent USAID (the U.S. Agency for International Development) Projects in Turkmenistan

U.S. Support for International Financial Reporting Standards in Turkmenistan

February 13, 2009 – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Supreme Council on Science and Technology under the President of Turkmenistan opened the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Training Center.  The center will train university professors to introduce IFRS into the Turkmen university accounting curriculum and serve as a resource facility for Turkmen professors’ ongoing professional development.

• USAID worked on the opening of this center through its Economic Reforms to Enhance Competitiveness (EREC) project. 
• This USAID project addresses the government’s priority of improving the educational system by integrating the Certified Accounting Practitioner (CAP) qualification from the CIPA (Certified International Professional Accountant) program into the University curriculum. 

USAID and Turkmenistan Open Interactive Multimedia Learning Center

Ashgabat, October 15, 2008 – An Interactive Multimedia Learning Center was opened by USAID and the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), at the Maktumguly Language and Literature Institute of the Supreme Council of Science and Technology under the President of Turkmenistan.  The center will help prepare educators and specialists to use computer technologies and the Internet in the classroom, furthering their professional development. 

• The new center is one of five in Turkmenistan and over 40 such U.S.-supported centers in Eurasia that are administered by IREX under the USAID-funded Internet Access and Training Program (IATP).
• The USAID-funded IATP program provides technical assistance in integrating information and communications technologies into education. 
• IREX trains the Supreme Council members and staff, as well as Turkmen educators at all levels, to use computer-based technologies and interactive, student-centered methods in the classroom, create digital lessons, join online discussions, and learn how to connect students with their peers in other countries over the Internet.

USAID Assists Turkmenistan in Developing Legislation

USAID’s partnership with Turkmenistan focused on drafting key legislation. Together with ICNL (International Center for Not-for-Profit Law), USAID has recently worked with the National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights under the President of Turkmenistan on the Law on Public Associations and the Law on Mass Media. Additionally, cooperation with the Institute for Strategic Planning and Economic Development focused on the Strategy for Private Sector Development.

• ICNL has been implementing USAID-funded programs that strengthen and support social services and NGOs in Central Asia for over 10 years. 
• ICNL is a US-based legal research organization providing technical assistance and analysis to leaders in over 80 countries worldwide.

USAID Assists Turkmenistan in TB Treatment Strategy

By the end of 2007, USAID had extended the TB detection and treatment program called DOTS to the entire population in Turkmenistan.  DOTS is the World Health Organization-recommended Directly Observed Treatment Short Course. 

In Turkmenistan this important work represents a cooperative effort among Turkmenistan's Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, the USAID –funded Project Hope, the National TB Prevention Center, the TB Department of the Turkmen State Medical Institute, Balkan Province AIDS Center, the World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières, the National Red Crescent Society, and ZdravPlus.  

• Between 2000 and 2007, USAID provided nearly $600 million for TB programs worldwide.  The U. S. Government also supports TB control worldwide through funding provided to the Global Fund (GF)to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. 
• The US government is the largest single donor to the GF, with pledges exceeding $2.1 billion through 2008.  Seventeen percent of support for the Global Fund has been dedicated to TB work.

The First Youth Center for HIV Prevention Opens in Ashgabat

March 4, 2008 – With funding from the United States of America, the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, the National HIV Prevention Center, and the Magtymguly Youth Union of Turkmenistan opened the first Youth Center for HIV prevention, in Ashgabat. 

• The center works with youth who are at increased risk for contracting HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and drug use.  The center organizes activities such as language courses, computer classes, sports, and social clubs.  Young people also receive counseling on reproductive health, social support, and referrals for medical treatment. 
• The Youth Center in Ashgabat is part of the USAID's CAPACITY project.  Another center is to open in Dashoguz in the near future.
• The CAPACITY project assists the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan to develop infrastructure for a large-scale response to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.  It represents a network of organizations working on HIV prevention