Turkmenistan receives UNICEF’s award letter for sustaining high immunization rates

At the international health conference commenced today, UNICEF Representative in Turkmenistan Ms. Christine Weigand presented an award letter to the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry for sustaining high immunization rates through the government-financed National Immunization Programme. 

“We congratulate Turkmenistan on this milestone. We look forward to continuing our long-standing and fruitful partnership for the health, nutrition and well-being of Turkmenistan’s children,” said UNICEF Representative while presenting the award letter to Turkmenistan’s Minister of Health and Medical Industry Mr. Nurmuhammet Amannepesov.

“Immunization is one of Turkmenistan’s key public health strategies to prevent diseases. We have sustained universal coverage throughout these years thanks to our partnership with UNICEF and WHO, as well as trained frontline health workers who immunize children, family doctors and public health education through media,” said Mr.Nurmuhammet Amannepesov.     

Since 2001, the Government has been fully funding the procurement of all vaccines and vaccine related supplies and equipment through UNICEF. The Government has also ensured the necessary infrastructure and human resources for maintaining high vaccination rates. For the period of 2016-2020, the Government allocated more than 40 million US dollars to ensure full coverage against major vaccine-preventable diseases. Recently, the Government has allocated additional 17 million US dollars for the procurement of three more vaccines against rotavirus, pneumococcal disease and Hepatis A.

In the framework of the international health conference, UNICEF will lead a session on public health nutrition with a focus on the Fortification Monitoring and Surveillance System (FORTIMAS). FORTIMAS is a cost-effective approach for the collection of population level monitoring and surveillance data to track the implementation and impact of the flour fortification programme, also fully funded by the Government of Turkmenistan.  

As an upper middle-income country, Turkmenistan is well-positioned to achieve many targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), given that it continues to increase investments in high impact interventions in public health and child survival, including in human resources and capacity development.