"Modern Turkmenistan is a country with high social security and liability standards, where the highest value the of society is people, and the government's efforts are aimed at creating the most favorable conditions for the free development of the individual and the opportunities for heir self-realization." This is a quote from the International Institute for Strategic Studies experts "Vector" based in Russia.
For the last 10 years, under the leadership of the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Turkmen government has been considering the health of the nation as the country's wealth while paying constant attention to the all aspects of national health system. The welfare and social conditions of the population have been steadily improving with new initiatives in sports and healthy lifestyle, including large scale fight against smoking and drug trafficking. Its achievements in the development of infrastructure and human resource capacity of the health system have also been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO).
As compared with 1996, the number of citizens covered with health insurance has increased by 45 percent. Currently, more than 70 % of the total population of the capital Ashgabat, including those claimed as dependents by their parents enjoy expanded preferential services of medical insurance. The insured residents purchase medicine with 90% discount, as well as enjoy privileges during in-patient treatment and dental prosthetics. Today, the list of preferential services include 50% discount on paid medical services at the state hospitals and clinics.
As a result of annual campaigns on prevention of poliomyelitis among children under 5 years old, Turkmenistan received a status of the country free of wild poliomyelitis virus. Since 2007, no case of viral hepatitis type B and diphtheria has been registered. The total level of morbidity has decreased by 18.3 percent, including infectious diseases – by 23 percent. As a result of the international partnership for prevention of HIV infection and AIDS, Turkmenistan is currently among the few countries where HIV infection and AIDS have not spread.
Construction of an entirely new hospitals, as well as procurement of health infrastructure are going on with big momentum. Just two years after the opening ceremony of the Cardiology Clinical Research Centre and the Emergency Care Centre in Ashgabat in 2014, the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov attended the opening ceremony of new Morphological centre, International Neurology Centre, Centre of Public Health and Nutrition, Centre for Prevention of Dangerous Infections in July 2016. All of the facilities were awarded with international certificates.
Today, Turkmenistan’s achievements in health care sector are frequently described by international mass media outlets. The country organizes annual international health forums. It ranks first in carrying out immunization activities, occupying a leading position in the region in terms of availability of free vaccines and immunization. And the capital Ashgabat is set to become the health center of the Central Asian region in the near future.
Source : Atavatan Turkmenistan News Agency (ATHA)