Dushanbe, Tajikistan, September 23, 2020 – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced a new five-year, $17.3 million program – USAID’s Healthy Mother, Healthy Baby activity that will be implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Khatlon Provincial Department of Health to reduce maternal and child mortality, morbidity, and malnutrition in western Khatlon province of Tajikistan.
In line with the U.S. Global Hunger and Food Security Strategy, this activity addresses both direct and underlying causes of malnutrition which stunt growth, slow cognitive development and earning potential, and increase susceptibility to illnesses such as COVID-19. It will improve the quality of Tajikistan’s health and social services so that citizens may achieve their full human development potential and contribute to Tajikistan’s social and economic growth.
Through this activity, USAID will elevate and institutionalize effective medical measures by delivering targeted, sustainable technical support to the Ministry of Health, hospitals, primary health care facilities, and communities. The end results will be a self-reliant health system in 12 districts of Khatlon province.
This program builds on previous USAID assistance which helped improve the quality of maternal and child health and nutrition services through 24 nutrition resource and training centers and contributed to lowering the child mortality rate from 43 to 33 per 1,000 live births between 2012 and 2017.
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USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. For more information, visit: https://www.usaid.gov/central-asia-regional and USAID’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/USAIDCentralAsia.
