The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has delivered the first shipment of insulin worth over $1.8 million to the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan (MHMIT).
The delivery of insulin, the vital drug for treatment of diabetes mellitus, was organized through the joint UNDP Turkmenistan and MHMIT project signed in December 2020 aiming to provide assistance to the Ministry to control the noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.
The project with a budget of $ 32.8 million is fully funded by the Government of Turkmenistan and provides support for supply of vital medical products for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, oncological, endocrine, neurological and chronic respiratory diseases, the UNDP said in its Friday press release.
The first batch includes the fast-acting insulins - Actrapid and Mixtard. In the near future, UNDP plans to supply other types of insulins, injector pens and needles produced by the European manufacturers.
“UNDP supports the procurement of medical products in more than 36 countries, including Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Iran, Moldova and Turkmenistan. Procurement through international organizations allows to provide the quality medical products at the most favorable prices” noted Rovshen Nurmuhamedov, UNDP Assistant Resident Representative in Turkmenistan.
The procurement of medical products by UNDP is carried out centrally at the headquarters level in Copenhagen, Denmark through the international tender run on the basis of fairness and transparency, the UNDP said in the statement.
Diabetes mellitus remains one of the primary causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. According to WHO, around 422 million people are living with diabetes in the world, which is estimated to be 1 in 11 of the world's population.