Event highlights
The WHO Country Office in Turkmenistan and the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan (MoHMIT) conducted a 3-day intensive training course on laboratory surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Held at the Public Health and Nutrition Center in Ashgabat, the training aimed to enhance national capacity to detect and monitor AMR, a growing global health threat that undermines the effectiveness of essential medicines.
The course was designed to strengthen technical skills among laboratory specialists from Ashgabat and Arkadag cities, as well as 5 provinces: Akhal, Balkan, Dashoguz, Lebap and Mary. Sessions were led by 2 national trainers, Dr B Kakabaeva, Head of the Microbiology Laboratory at the Public Health and Nutrition Center, and Dr B Orazova, Head of the Bacteriology Department at the Central Laboratory, ensuring the transfer of advanced skills and best practices.
The training programme offered a comprehensive mix of theory and practice. Participants learned about AMR monitoring methods, proper sample collection and handling, and interpretation of antimicrobial susceptibility testing results based on European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) standards. Practical sessions focused on disk diffusion and serial dilution techniques, quality control using American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) reference strains, and external quality assessment under the Central Asian and European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (CAESAR) programme. The training also covered national guidelines, regulatory documentation, reporting procedures, and strategies for selecting appropriate antimicrobials for gram-negative and gram-positive organisms. The course concluded with discussions on laboratory performance, recommendations for improvement and post-training assessment.
This initiative is part of a 2-year cooperation agreement between WHO/Europe and the MoHMIT, supported by the WHO Country Office in Turkmenistan, and aligns with global efforts under CAESAR. By strengthening laboratory capacity, Turkmenistan aims to improve the detection and monitoring of AMR at the national level, support evidence-based decision-making for antimicrobial use, and contribute to global surveillance efforts to reduce the risk of drug-resistant infections.