Nationwide effort to enhance mother and child healthcare launched in Uzbekistan
TASHKENT, 22 November 2012 – Today the Ministry of Health, UNICEF and the European Commission officially launched
a new joint initiative to enhance health prospects
for all mothers and children across the country through advanced health sector
reform and improved quality of care and health-seeking practices among families and communities. An agreement on the project was signed between the Ministry of Health, UNICEF and the
European Union (EU) in July this year. It marked a continuation of the successful and
strong partnership between these three parties in implementing of the
innovative “Improvement of Mother and Child Health Services” funded by the EU
from 2008 to 2011.
Implemented in eight regions of Uzbekistan, that
project represented a radical change in approach to and quality of healthcare
services. It brought scalable and cost-effective solutions to providing
equitable access to health services for mothers and children. In the framework of the project, over 17,000 healthcare providers upgraded their
skills and knowledge through 17 established training centres. But more
importantly, it gave compelling evidence that an integrated package of newborn
and child survival interventions along the continuum of care from pre-pregnancy
to childhood can significantly reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality, thus
bringing the country closer to attaining Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. IMCHS Phase II comes at a strategic time when
close to a 100 governments, including the Government of Uzbekistan, and a
multitude of partners from the private sector, civil society, and faith-based
organizations joined the Call for Action ‘Committing to Child Survival: A
Promise Renewed’. Mr Norbert Jousten –
Ambassador, Head of the European Union Delegation to Uzbekistan said that “this
second phase of the project confirms the commitment of the EU to support human
development in Uzbekistan, with special emphasis on woman and children. We are
confident that the choice of UNICEF as implementing agency is a good one that
will obtain the expected result."
This project will now be implemented across the
entire country over the course of three years and benefit more than 13,000 of
healthcare professionals, nurses, health managers, medical and nursing students
and their teachers. In turn, an estimated population of 15.5 million people
residing in rural areas, including 3.5 million children under-five years of
age, will benefit from their improved capacity to provide high quality
services. It focuses on the following three inter-linked
components that are essential for long-term and sustainable results:
"Through
this project, our priority is not only to ensure that every mother and child
across the country has access to essential healthcare services, but that
families are engaged in positive household practices through parenting
education”, stressed Mr. Jean-Michel Delmotte, UNICEF
Representative. “We are confident that
the new joint initiative will contribute to advancing health system reforms and
strengthening coordination in the maternal and child health area," he
added. The programme is valued at 7,190,000 EURO out of
which European Union contribution consists of 6,700,000 EURO, including
1,700,000 EURO of equipment for selected perinatal centres and maternities of
the country. For more information, please contact: Ministry of Health UNICEF EU Delegation
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