Better Access, Better Lives: Free Medicines for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

My daughter's name is Mahri. She was born in 1991. Until she turned 30, she was just a normal, active young woman – making plans, working, dreaming.

How we found out about the illness

It all started suddenly. Mahri began complaining about her eyesight: "Mum, I can't see well with my left eye – it's like there's a veil over it". Like any parent, I wanted to say it was from too much computer and phone. But I still convinced her to go see an eye doctor at the local health house and get her vision checked. The eye doctor didn't find anything wrong.

A few days later, Mahri completely lost feeling in her left arm. I remember how she would pick up a cup and say in disbelief that her arm felt like someone else's - numb, like it wasn't hers. It became hard to manage her clothes, everyday objects, even eating. And strangely, the arm didn't hurt - it was just completely numb. Then the same thing happened with her left leg. My daughter couldn't walk on her own anymore - only by holding onto the walls or onto me, stopping every few steps.

I looked at my girl and didn't recognize her. Just recently she had been laughing, running around doing her stuff, and now she couldn't even get to the bathroom without support. I couldn't sleep at night, wondering what kind of disease this was.

We travelled to Ashgabat, to the S.A. Niyazov Diagnostic and Treatment Centre. There, in 2021, my daughter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). At first, I didn't fully understand what that meant - I was just lost.

It turned out that multiple sclerosis is when your own immune system mistakenly attacks the protective covering around nerves in the brain and spinal cord. As a result, the connection between the nerves and the body breaks down. The brain can no longer control the body's movements. MS affects about 1 person in every 2,800 people around the world. You never imagine your child will be one of them.

I was so scared that my child would lose the chance to build a future for herself.

My nightmares at night

After the diagnosis, I barely slept. I would lie there thinking: my daughter is only 30, and she can't even walk anymore. What comes next? A wheelchair? Will she be alone forever? Who will take care of her when I'm gone? It wasn't the disability itself that frightened me - it was that uncertainty about the future. Not knowing when it would get worse, or by how much. I was terrified of watching my daughter fade away day by day, helplessly doing anything about it.

Then in Ashgabat, they told us something unexpected: Turkmenistan had launched a joint project between the Ministry of Health and UNDP to control non-communicable and rare diseases. And under this project, my daughter was eligible for free treatment.

I couldn't believe my ears. Multiple sclerosis medicines are among the most expensive in the world. And they were just giving them - for free - covered by the state? Usually, the medicine is given only twice a year, but it is a long-term treatment if not lifelong. In Turkmenistan, the price of one vial ranges from $3,000 to $4,000, can you imagine the financial burden if we had to buy 2 injections per year?

The Ministry of Health and UNDP project: medicines for all

In 2021, UNDP and the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan launched the first cycle of the project to strengthen Turkmenistan’s national response to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Working hand‑in‑hand with the Ministry, UNDP supported nationwide distribution of more than 120 essential, medicines free for the patients - for cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and other NCDs.

With a focus on equitable access, the project reached healthcare facilities at all levels – primary, secondary and tertiary – including remote areas, while addressing gender‑specific health needs through targeted medicines for breast and cervical cancer, endocrine disorders, and maternal care.

As Mahri’s mother said, such life‑changing support was beyond belief – yet today, thanks to this project, it is a reality for thousands of families across Turkmenistan.

Way to recover

We registered in Ashgabat. They started giving her the medicine ocrelizumab. When the doctors explained how it works - and when I read about it later - it seemed almost like science fiction.

Note: The medicine ocrelizumab finds those specific immune cells in the blood that are mistakenly attacking patient's nerve cells and gently switches them off. Meanwhile, the rest of immune system keeps working as normal. In other words, it doesn’t cure MS or repair damage already done, but it can protect the nervous system from further attacks and stops multiple sclerosis from progressing.

Mahri has now had three injections. God willing, she'll get a fourth. And I can see the results with my own eyes. My daughter has adjusted: she can see with her left eye again – not as clearly as before, but the veil is gone. The numbness in her left arm and leg has almost disappeared. She walks without support – on her own. She's smiling again, making plans for her life.

That fear of uncertainty that lived inside me every single day – it has gone. My daughter will live a full life. She won't have to depend on me forever.

One small wish

To be honest, there's one thing that would make our life even better. Right now, we can only get the injections in Ashgabat, it is administered as an intravenous injection requiring several hours. But we live in Lebap velayat – a very long journey, and it's hard for my daughter to cope with the travel. Also, she can't go alone; someone always must be with her to help and watch over her. That means extra costs, and at home, everything should be paused for this time.

If we could get the same injections in our own velayat – even just at the central hospital – I'd be twice as happy. Easier for my daughter, and easier on our finances. I know, now ocrelizumab is also available as under-the-skin injections, it takes only few minutes and can be easily done in velayat. I know that many medicines from the project are already available in the velayats. I hope that one day this one will be too.

But that's more of a request - really, we do not complain. I want to say a huge thank you to both the Ministry of Health and UNDP. After all, every parent's job is to raise their little children into strong, confident adults who have a future. And now, my daughter definitely has one.