Maternal Mortality in Turkmenistan: Data, Challenges and Questions.

Published by Progres Foundation (progres.online)   25/09/2024

Turkmenistan has made some limited headway in reducing maternal mortality but a closer examination of the available data reveals gaps and challenges that could hinder further progress. […]

In their concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Turkmenistan in February 2024, CEDAW Committee shared their concerns related to maternal mortality, women and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health services, lack of training of health-care staff on women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, and lack of publicly available disaggregated data on prevalence of cervical and breast cancer and HIV/AIDS. To reduce maternal mortality, the committee recommended Turkmenistan to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, to legalize abortion and decriminalize it in all cases and to ensure that women and adolescent girls have adequate access to safe abortion and post-abortion services, to provide free access to modern contraceptives for all women and girls, and to collect data on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS.

In this article we briefly describe the state of maternal health and mortality in Turkmenistan using publicly available information from WHO, UNFPA and the National Statistics Office of Turkmenistan. However, there are inconsistencies in data and the quality of information on maternal mortality in Turkmenistan.

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What has been done to improve maternal health in Turkmenistan?

In 2023 the government of Turkmenistan with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) made limited progress in improving maternal health, which are briefly summarized below.

However, there is no information on whether or how the training materials, content for public education and medical protocols, developed as part of the engagement with the government, have been made available to the public. We were unable to find them online. According to UNFPA:

  • Around $700,000 of Government funds were invested in medical diagnostic equipment, emergency obstetric care instruments, medicines, and contraceptives which helped prevent more than 40 potential maternal deaths.
  • Basic and emergency obstetric care maternity units are evenly distributed throughout the country and their number meets the WHO standards.
  • 44 new obstetrics protocols were implemented in all maternity units. Obstetricians received training on these protocols from regional health experts to ensure consistent maternal care. The training was state-funded.
  • Obstetricians in maternity centres throughout the country benefited from analytical tools presented by UNFPA and WHO on conducting the review/self-audit of near miss cases with the purpose of identifying shortcomings and preventing such future cases.
  • Women with anaemia or chronic diseases receive free contraceptives to prevent unintended pregnancies. As of 2020, 64% of these women were using voluntary family planning services in 95 reproductive health rooms nationwide.

UNFPA has supported the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan in setting the three levels of maternal health care, at national, regional and local levels, with a defined set of human resources, equipment, services and standardized clinical practice. As a result, in 2020, 82% of complicated deliveries were handled at regional and national level maternity centres compared to 40% in 2014.

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While UNFPA reports improvements in maternal mortality, [due to] gaps in data on complications, healthcare professionals question Turkmenistan’s low maternal mortality rate claims. Limited public access to this data restricts transparency and accountability [and] promotes dangerous health practices among population.

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UNFPA states that Turkmenistan can end preventable maternal mortality by improving health financing, emergency obstetric care, reproductive health education, contraceptive access, anaemia rates, and disease prevention. The Saglyk team emphasizes data collection, transparency and monitoring, and government accountability as crucial prerequisites for effective implementation of these solutions and international programs.

Source: progres.online

https://progres.online/society/maternal-mortality-in-turkmenistan-data-challenges-and-questions/

Maternal Mortality in Turkmenistan: Data, Challenges and Questions.

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