Event highlights
From 17–18 November 2025, the WHO Country Office in Turkmenistan welcomed a technical advisory mission from WHO/Europe aimed at advancing national efforts in environmental and health protection within the framework of the One Health approach. The mission was led by Dr Sinaia Netanyahu, Programme Manager, Environment and Health Impact Assessment, WHO European Centre for Environment and Health.
During the visit, Dr Netanyahu worked closely with national counterparts to support Turkmenistan in integrating environmental considerations more effectively into health systems, pandemic preparedness planning and intersectoral coordination mechanisms.
At the heart of the mission was a national workshop titled “Capacity-building in environment and health within the One Health approach”. The workshop brought together representatives from the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, Ministry of Environmental Protection and related services and committees, Ministry of Agriculture, State Veterinary Service, State Committee for Water Management, Myrat Garryyev State Medical University, Turkmen Agricultural University named after S.A. Niyazov and the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan. International partners participating in the workshop included the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Organisation for Animal Health, United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia, World Bank as well as the United Nations Children’s Fund and United Nations Development Programme.
The workshop aimed to strengthen Turkmenistan’s capacity to integrate environmental considerations into One Health initiatives as part of the implementation of the multi-country Pandemic Fund project “Prevention Preparedness and Response to Pandemics within the Framework of the One Health Initiative in Central Asia” in Turkmenistan. It focused on incorporating WHO/Europe’s environment and health framework into One Health initiatives across the health, environment and agriculture sectors, while emphasizing the importance of strong intersectoral coordination for environmental protection, surveillance, risk assessment and outbreak response.
Discussions during the workshop also highlighted the need to align environmental aspects of the One Health approach with the Joint Environmental Action Plan (particularly Pillar 6), “Roadmap for health and well-being in Central Asia”, Budapest Declaration and the environmental component of the Global Biodiversity Framework, including the “Global Plan of Action on Biodiversity and Health”, as well as with the priorities of the Pandemic Response Fund to ensure coherent implementation and an effective use of resources.
The mission was organized by the WHO Country Office in Turkmenistan and the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Agriculture, State Veterinary Service and international development partners.