On 29 July 2021, WHO delivered new laboratory equipment to Turkmenistan to increase the country’s capacity for COVID-19 testing. The delivery is part of a collaboration between the WHO Country Office in Turkmenistan and the country’s Ministry of Health and Medical Industry to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response, and in particular to tackle the spread of virus variants of concern. Among the new equipment, COVID-19 virus detection kits and two Rotor-Gene devices, used for COVID-19 testing, will be installed in the Ministry’s regional laboratories, where polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are routinely carried out.
From the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO Country Office in Turkmenistan has been coordinating the work of partners – UN agencies, international organizations and others – in support of the Ministry to ensure that health agencies are prepared for the spread of acute respiratory infections, including COVID-19. This has included procuring supplies and equipment, which in 2020–2021, accounted for a total value of US$ 2.8 million – of which US$ 2.5 million worth came from WHO/Europe. Procurement efforts have helped to support the Ministry’s comprehensive measures to prevent the spread of infections, with financial aid from WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
All of these efforts are aimed at building the national capacity and helping reduce the risks and potential impacts that COVID-19 could have for the country’s citizens. These activities are carried out as part of the Country Preparedness and Response Plan, developed by the Ministry in collaboration with UN agencies in Turkmenistan. These agencies and partner organizations will continue to support the provision of the necessary funds, materials and equipment to respond to the pandemic.