On April 27, 2009, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), represented by Country Director Carolyn Bryan, Pаnjаkent Vice-chairman Fotima Rofieva, National Family Medicine Center and Sughd Oblast Health Department representatives, presented diplomas to the first eight graduates of the Family Medicine Center of Excellence in Pаnjаkent, Sughd Oblast. The Center of Excellence (CoE) in Pаnjаkent was established in 2008 as a result of partnership and collaboration between the Ministry of Health, the USAID ZdravPlus Project, the Sughd Oblast Health Department, and the Pаnjаkent Hukumat.
Strengthening primary health care (PHC) and introducing family medicine are priorities supported by Tajikistan’s National Health Reform Concept and the National Poverty Reduction Strategy. Access to primary health care services improves early detection of diseases and reduces hospitalization rates through effective management of chronic conditions. The treatment of medical conditions at the PHC level provides quality care while reducing the need for referrals to expensive specialists, saving health sector resources and reducing the cost of medical services for families.
Primary health care is valuable to Tajikistan, and that means that highly qualified family doctors are critical. The Ministry of Health estimates that the expansion of PHC services across the country will require 4000 family physicians. Family doctors trained in the Panjakent Center of Excellence will strengthen medical services for the whole Zarafshon valley.
A second six-month re-training course has already begun; it includes twelve doctors from Panjakent Health Center #1 and four doctors from the Rural Health Centers in Panjakent district. After this training course is complete, the Panjakent CoE will operate as a family medicine practice.
The USAID ZdravPlus project is one of the many assistance projects implemented in Tajikistan by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on behalf of the American people. Since 1993 the American people through USAID have provided about $300 million in assistance programs that support economic growth, democratic institutions, health care, and education systems of Tajikistan.
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