WHO CO in Turkmenistan facilitates technical advisory mission of WHO experts on strengthening National Emergency Medical Team capacities in Turkmenistan

The purpose of the technical advisory mission included the reiteration of the formal commitment of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan (MoHMIT) on the development of the National EMT (NEMT), enhancement of Turkmenistan’s capacity in NEMT, appointment of the National Focal Point (NFP) for EMT, roles and responsibilities of the NFP in the country, the current situation and opportunities for the NEMT in Turkmenistan, provision of advisory and technical support to strengthen the national capacity in NEMT activities and discussion of joint activities in this area.

                                               

Led by Dr. Oleg Storozhenko, Regional Focal Point for Emergency Medical Teams at WHO/Europe, the mission comprised a team of esteemed experts in the field of EMT. The team included Dr. Nadine Vahedi, Technical Specialist on EMT from the EMT Secretariat at WHO Headquarters, Mr Gijs Geert, senior expert on EMT and mentor at WHO/Europe, and Dr Sergey Boyarsky, a technical specialist at the Regional European EMT Capabilities Hub.

During the mission, the team met with the high-level officials of the MoHMIT to review the goals and objectives, methodology, and classification of EMT as well as to discuss the appointment of the National Focal Point for EMT and recommendations regarding their roles and responsibilities. 

Working closely with the MoHMIT, the team engaged with the national experts to discuss the creation and strengthening the capacity of the NEMT. Additionally, a meeting was conducted for the national experts on the creation of NEMT, which included an introduction to the EMT 2030 Strategy and the Capacity Development Tool to inform the development of a comprehensive roadmap for the creation and classification of NEMT. Discussions covered multiple topics, including planning and process development, administrative considerations, staffing and rostering considerations as well as conducting trainings. 

 The successful completion of this technical advisory mission marks a significant milestone in enhancing Turkmenistan's national capacity in emergency response, including outlining the next steps on the development of the roadmap for establishing and strengthening of the NEMT and further join actions in this area.