Improved mother-child care in Tajikistan

The new Oblast Perinatal Centre was inaugurated on 11 September in the provincial town of Kulyob attended by President Emomalij Rahmon, Health Minister Nazim Olimzoda and German Ambassador Andreas Prothmann. During his visit, President Rahmon expressed his immense satisfaction with the high quality of the new building and the modern medical equipment. The province of Kathlon is one of the poorest regions in Tajikistan. As one of the most important referral centres, the start-up of operation of the modern perinatal centre therefore represents a decisive step towards improving health and medical care for women, mothers and children in the region.

Tajikistan has made considerable progress in the fight against poverty in recent years, but is still one of the poorest countries in Central Asia. The health care sector in particular is underfinanced and inadequately equipped, many hospitals are outdated and have insufficient medical equipment. This is another reason why the mortality rate of children and mothers is comparatively high. To counter this, KfW, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), is supporting the Tajik government in its efforts to modernise the health care sector and implement important structural reforms such as cost-saving and optimisation measures, as well as to improve technical skills.

Another five hospitals will be upgraded or newly built by the end of 2023 as part of the mother-child care programme. The overall programme (phases I-VI) has an investment volume of EUR 65 million.