2009 Press Release
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U.S. Ambassador Ken Gross presenting a plaque to the Minister of Health Nusratullo Salimov in recognition of the longstanding partnership between the U.S. and Tajik Governments in healthcare reform, October 2, 2009, Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
U.S. GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZES TAJIK MINISTRY OF HEALTH FOR 10 YEARS OF COLLABORATION
Dushanbe, Tajikistan, October 2, 2009. U.S. Ambassador Ken Gross, Minister of Health of Tajikistan Nusratullo Salimov and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Country Director Kevin Dean participated in a ceremony to recognize the longstanding partnership between the U.S. and Tajik Governments in healthcare reform. Since 1999, this collaboration has achieved significant results in the quality of healthcare in Tajikistan by changing the way that healthcare is managed and financed.
“In the past ten years, the USAID ZdravPlus project has established an effective partnership with the MoH and donor organizations. Through cooperation, they have implemented healthcare financing reforms, strengthened primary healthcare (PHC), improved maternal and child health, and increased community awareness on health topics. These activities are supported by Tajikistan’s National Health Reform Concept, the National Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Millennium Development Goals, and they now support the development of a new Health Sector Strategy,” said Ambassador Ken Gross at the ceremony.
The USAID ZdravPlus project has helped the MoH introduce family medicine in Tajikistan. Family medicine improves the early detection of diseases and reduces hospitalization rates. It also saves health sector resources and reduces the cost of medical services for families. This reduction in costs leads to increased access to healthcare for much of the population. Finally, family medicine reforms in Tajikistan have helped people take responsibility for their own health by changing their lifestyles.
Changing the way that healthcare is financed is another hallmark of healthcare reform in Tajikistan. Together with a coalition of donors and the MoH, the USAID ZdravPlus project has developed a new finance system in which clinics and hospitals are funded according to their number of patients. Finance reforms also include a new basic package of benefits that is being piloted with support from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Swiss Development Cooperation funded Project Sino.
The USAID ZdravPlus project is one of the many assistance projects implemented in Tajikistan by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on behalf of the American people. Since 1993 the American people through USAID have provided more than $300 million in assistance programs that support economic growth, democratic institutions, health care, and education systems of Tajikistan.
