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Turkmenistan family planning needs of women at risk
– Reported, May 24, 2013
In Turkmenistan, the UNFPA supplied modern contraceptives have mainly been used for the improvement of maternal health by prescribing the contraceptives to the women at risk, including the cases of complicated pregnancy, delivery or who is suffering with severe chronic diseases. The introduction of the new indicator into the medical statistics system will help improve the process of identification of the most at risk women, their coverage and ensuring quality of the national family planning and reproductive health commodity security programmes implementation.
The RHI endorsement was the result of best practices regional study visit between the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Malaysya and five Central Asian ministries of health, organized by the UNFPA Sub-Regional Office. We were pleased with the visit because Malaysias context is very similar to Turkmenistans the goal of the family planning programme is not lowering the fertility rate, but to improve the maternal health, said Ms. Akjemal Durdyeva, Director of the National Reproductive Health Center of Turkmenistan. We visited the healthcare facilities where the reproductive health services are offered to men, women and young people, equipped with different infrastructure to better cater their specific needs, she added, and were impressed with the special family planning services, which address the needs of most at risk women.
Following the study visit, the MoH of Turkmenistan established a Working group specifically to work on the introduction of Malaysias experience into Turkmenistans health statistics system. The group conducted consultations on all levels of healthcare system and updated the reporting forms to better reflect and track the needs of the most at risk women. The MoH of Turkmenistan further issued an order on the introduction of the RHI into the health statistics. Its significant that the updated reporting form in identifying the most at risk women, besides the health status, now also considers the socio-economic level of the women, stated Ms. Durdyeva.
Now through the primary healthcare level, the family doctors jointly with the ob-gyns will have easier time and clear guidance on identifying the most at risk women and directing them to the Reproductive Health Centers and Rooms in their region to address their family planning needs; hence improve the level of maternal health in the country.
As newly upper-middle income country, Turkmenistan continues to improve its statistical system. The country extends special efforts to reduce disparities in access and use of the reproductive health commodities, especially by reaching the most at risk women and addressing their needs.
Risk factors of most at risk women contribute to significant percentage of the maternal mortality rate, stated Ms. Bahar Agayeva, Head of the Medical Statistics Department, Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan. Addressing the family planning needs of these women will help us significantly decrease the maternal mortality and improve womens reproductive health in the country.
Endorsement of the new Reproductive Health Indicator is only one of the achievements of the Government of Turkmenistan in strengthening the reproductive healthcare system in the country. Turkmenistan has demonstrated the national ownership for achieving the MDG 5B universal access to reproductive health, as the Memorandum of Understanding is now getting ready to be signed between the Government of Turkmenistan and the United Nations Population Fund. The gradual shift to the state procurement of modern contraceptives is one of the expected results of the MOU.
CREDITS.
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