When a woman gives birth, timing is everything. Accurate and timely laboratory results are essential in maternal care. For instance, correctly identifying hemoglobin levels after birth allows clinicians to assess the extent of blood loss and act quickly. Standardized procedures and verified results help ensure such decisions are based on reliable data.
Muhabbat Azimova, a senior lab technician at the Republican Perinatal Centre in Tashkent, knows this well. For 18 years, she has worked behind the scenes, ensuring that vital test results are accurate, timely and reliable.
“If blood test results are delayed or incorrect, the consequences for a mother can be life-threatening,” says Muhabbat. “That’s why quality in the lab is crucial.”
Learning from experience: a cross-border knowledge exchange
Muhabbat Azimova was among a group of Uzbek laboratory professionals who participated in a WHO-facilitated collaborative learning initiative at the National Tuberculosis (TB) Reference Laboratory of the Kyrgyz Republic. The knowledge exchange was organized under the Joint Programme “Every mother and child survives and thrives: reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths in 227 perinatal centres of Uzbekistan”. The initiative focuses on best practices for laboratory quality management systems aligned with international standards.
“The organization of the lab, the storage systems, how they verified every result before sharing it with clinicians – it all made a strong impression,” Muhabbat recalls. “It made me realize that when you ensure quality and have standard rules and procedures in place, it directly affects the improvement and precision of the results and, as a consequence, saves patients’ lives.”
Putting lessons into practice
On returning to Uzbekistan, Muhabbat and her team began putting lessons into practice. With WHO’s technical support, the clinical-diagnostic laboratory of the Republican Perinatal Centre is now implementing a quality management system. This includes ensuring biosafety practices, improving documentation, organizing the proper management of reagents and the timely communication of results to physicians.
“We started documenting every test, every shift change. We reorganized the layout of the lab. And we made sure our new colleagues understood why this work matters,” Muhabbat says.
Investing in people, building for the future
Muhabbat is now mentoring younger colleagues and advocating for continuous training and knowledge exchange. She emphasizes the importance of empowering mid-level staff, including nurses, lab technicians and quality managers – who are often at the frontlines of patient care.
“Of course, good equipment matters, but it’s not enough; equipment alone doesn’t solve problems. What we really need are standard operating procedures, systems for equipment management and staff who know how to use them properly,” she says.
About the project
WHO is dedicated to strengthening the quality of laboratory testing and empowering specialists across central and regional hospitals in Uzbekistan. One of the key initiatives supporting this work is the Joint Programme “Every mother and child survives and thrives: reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths in 227 perinatal centres of Uzbekistan”, funded by the Ishonch Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund and implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and WHO.
Under this project, WHO has supported the Ministry of Health in strengthening laboratory systems nationwide with reinforced quality management, biosecurity, biosafety and capacities. Within the Ishonch Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund project alone, WHO helped train over 80 laboratory professionals across Uzbekistan on how to improve the accuracy and reliability of medical test results.
Beyond laboratory systems strengthening through the Ishonch Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund project, WHO also supported the Ministry of Health in the review and update of 43 national clinical protocols in line with WHO recommendations. These include 29 protocols in obstetrics and gynaecology, 2 of which relate to the improvement of antimicrobial use in clinical practice and 14 in neonatal care.
The updated and approved protocols are being progressively introduced through training and capacity-building activities to strengthen service delivery and clinical practice. Over 200 trainers have been trained on effective perinatal care technologies and will be disseminating this knowledge across the country.
These joint efforts move Uzbekistan closer to a future where no mother or child is left behind, no matter where they live.