Turkmen delegation has participated at the Third Forum of the Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crisis of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, organized by UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, and International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).
Key objective of the Working Group is to better coordinate all efforts on humanitarian response and emergency preparedness in the region. During the Forum, Turkmen delegates presented the country’s experience in its readiness to prevent excess maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity in case of the humanitarian crisis.
Turkmenistan has recently taken positive steps in integrating the reproductive health into emergency preparedness and planning. With support of UNFPA, the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry (MoH) of Turkmenistan continues to develop the infrastructure on the ground, to improve its policies and legislation, and has recently created a database with disaggregated data on existing emergency obstetric care (EmOC) services through conducting an assessment on availability of the EmOC services in each region of Turkmenistan.
Most notably, the National Action Plan on Minimum Initial Reproductive Health Service Package (MISP) has been endorsed in 2014 by the Government of Turkmenistan as a result of interagency dialogue and advocacy efforts. Now, the national specialists are better equipped to provide an international standard of care at the onset of every emergency.
What is MISP and why is it important? In an emergency setting, emphasis is often placed on life-saving interventions, such as providing water and sanitation, control of communicable diseases, treatment of injuries and ensuring proper nutrition.
However, it is important to be ready to provide reproductive health care services on timely basis during the emergency setting as well. On average, four percent of the disaster affected population makes up pregnant women. Fifteen percent of these pregnant women will develop complications during delivery and will need life saving services. The MISP for Reproductive Health can save their life.
The MISP for Reproductive Health is a set of priority activities with goal of reducing mortality, morbidity and disability among populations affected by crises, particularly women and girls. The MISP contains set actions and guidelines for providing coordinated emergency reproductive health care services during the earliest phases of an emergency and guides the planning for comprehensive reproductive health services when the situation has stabilized.
In Turkmenistan, the National Action Plan was developed by a group of national specialists of the Ministry of Healthcare and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan with support of UNFPA international consultant. The working group analyzed the current hazards mapping, country needs and priorities and aligned the most efficient and effective strategies to the National Action Plan, which was developed in line with the international standards and best practices.
With endorsement of the document, close partnership continues with the Government of Turkmenistan, civil society and international organizations for better preparedness within the framewrok of the National Action Plan. Currently, 74 national specialists have already been trained on MISP in disaster prone zones.
Women and girls are particularly vulnerable among the disaster-affected population. They are at risk of complications during the pregnancy and delivery, sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. This makes it indispensable to integrate the reproductive health issues into the planning and management of disaster situations on the national level.
UNFPA: Delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
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For additional information, please contact:
Kemal Goshliyev, NPO on RH
Ene Tuyliyeva, Advocacy Communication Associate
Tel: 425250
Web: unfpa.org.tm, www.untuk.org
