From 28 November to 2 December 2022, a high-level delegation from Tajikistan visited Türkiye to strengthen cooperation and to exchange experience and best practices related to health financing and primary health care. The countries have agreed to work together closely on the implementation of a series of ambitious health system reforms in Tajikistan.
Türkiye has championed significant health system reforms over the past 2 decades. The country has been moving towards universal health coverage by ensuring that its entire population has access to essential health services without risk of impoverishing or catastrophic out-of-pocket payments, which make it challenging to meet other basic needs such as food, housing and electricity.
Türkiye’s experience is valuable to Tajikistan, which is in the process of implementing its own far-going health system reforms. The visit allowed Tajik representatives to identify best practices for organizing health financing, including benefits packages and provider payments, as part of an efficient health system. Strengthening primary health care while making it universally accessible and free at the point of use is central to these reforms.
Key cooperation to advance universal health coverage in Tajikistan
The Tajik delegation included a representative of the Executive Office of the President as well as deputy ministers of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, and the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Employment, all of which play an important part in Tajikistan’s health system reforms.
The delegation met with their counterparts in Ankara, visiting the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and the Social Security Institution. During 5 days of knowledge exchange, the Tajik delegation visited several health-care facilities in Türkiye to better understand how the Turkish health system is currently structured. The representatives from the Turkish and Tajik ministries also agreed to further intensify strategic cooperation to advance the health system reforms in Tajikistan over the coming years.
Intercountry learning offers important opportunities to strengthen health systems, and the exchange between Tajikistan and Türkiye is a prime example of the importance of strategic cooperation within the WHO European Region. This demonstrates how WHO brings together stakeholders from different countries to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and to establish an international network of health professionals.
The high-level visit to strengthen bilateral cooperation was organized by the WHO country offices in Tajikistan and Türkiye, with technical guidance from the WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Financing, which has been supporting both countries in their processes of health-financing reforms. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) also provided significant support to the organization of this visit.
The high-level visit was made possible by the Health Development Programme funded by the European Union. The European Union is a strong partner of Tajikistan, and has invested more than 60 million euros in the past decade alone to advance universal health coverage in the country.