Keeping Children Healthy

The Ministry of Health in Turkmenistan is committed to investing in its future by improving children’s health. The government wants to prevent common childhood conditions like diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, anemia, measles, and malnutrition. This commitment is why the government has strongly supported the “Keeping Children Healthy” campaign, a collaboration of USAID, UNICEF and the World Health Organization. The campaign shares key health messages with mothers through community health care providers.

It looks like the investments are already paying off. Since 2011, USAID Quality Health Care Project and its partners have trained 760 family nurses on how to educate mothers and other caretakers on proper nutrition, exclusive breastfeeding, home treatment for children with diarrhea, health danger signs, and other preventive measures. These nurses, in turn, have reached approximately 28,000 mothers of children under five in eight communities. A comparison of pre- and post-campaign surveys found that, on average, knowledge and awareness among mothers regarding health messages relevant to their child’s health increased by more than 30% by the end of the eight week campaign.

Improvements in caretaker knowledge are an essential part of ensuring that families can prevent and immediately address children’s health issues. USAID and its partners are proud to invest in keeping Turkmenistan’s children healthy.