August 4, 2023, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan — On July 27-28, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and World Health Organization (WHO) in Turkmenistan trained tuberculosis (TB) specialists of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan (MoHMIT) on systematic screening and preventive treatment of TB.
The training is part of a comprehensive program under the regional Central Asian activity “Improved Prevention, Detection and Treatment of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) in Central Asia,” funded by USAID and implemented by WHO together with MoHMIT. Two prominent TB experts, Dr. Mihail Volik and Dr. Anisoar Ciobanu, led the training.
The experts introduced newly developed National Guidelines for Systematic Screening and Preventive Treatment of TB, introducing innovative approaches in TB screening methods and algorithms in different target risk groups, as well as in preventing TB at all levels.
Additionally, the MoHMIT experts reviewed the epidemiological situation, innovative WHO-recommended tests for TB infection; and discussed preventive treatment of multidrug resistant TB and its outcomes, as well as monitoring and evaluation methods.
These efforts contribute to the implementation of the National Program for Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in Turkmenistan for 2021-2025.With consecutive training of medical personnel, the Guidelines on Systematic Screening and TB Preventive treatment will also allow early detection of TB cases and decrease development of active TB among those who were infected.
These efforts contribute to reducing TB-related fatalities as envisioned in the USAID’s Global Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy and the WHO End TB Strategy.
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USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. For more information on USAID Central Asia, please visit: https://www.usaid.gov/central-asia-regional.
By US Embassy Ashgabat | August 4, 2023 | Topics: News, Press Releases, Sections & Offices, U.S. & Turkmenistan, U.S. Agencies