TURKMENISTAN: MODERN HEALTH FACILITIES LACK DOCTORS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001269 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO TSPL SOCI EIND TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: MODERN HEALTH FACILITIES LACK DOCTORS ASHGABAT 00001269 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but Unclassified. Not for Public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Two months ago, the Turkmen government commissioned two major medical hospitals in Ashgabat, but the facilities remain closed due to a shortage of qualified medical personnel to staff the hospitals. The serious shortage of qualified local specialists forced the government to speed up the process for certification of holders of foreign university diplomas. The Turkmen government allows private healthcare services, but the Ministry of Health maintains control over the quality of services provided by private healthcare providers. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (U) On July 21, the Government of Turkmenistan commissioned two multi-million dollar health facilities in Ashgabat: the International Medical Center for treating head and neck-related diseases and the Oncology Center. The Turkish Inshaat and Polimeks companies carried out the construction. The equipment for the medical facilities came from Germany, Italy and the United States. President Berdimuhamedov, who is a dentist by background, attended the inauguration ceremony for the opening of the medical facilities and operated on a patient to remove a fatty tumor from his ear. The president declared July 21 "Professional Health Workers' Day." ¶4. (SBU) According to a local source, two months later, the new hospitals are still not functioning. Reportedly, the Ministry of Health has experienced difficulties staffing the hospitals with personnel qualified to operate the high-tech diagnostic equipment. At Turkmenistan's only medical school, the curriculum is outdated and materials are lacking. Over the past fifteen years, this neglect has resulted in low professional standards among health workers who were trained while Niyazov was president. ¶5. (SBU) Until 2008, the Ministry of Health did not recognize foreign medical diplomas and denied employment to local medical specialists who graduated from foreign medical schools or received training in foreign countries, unless the training was part of a government-sponsored program. Now, the government has a regulation in place, according to which the Ministry of Education (MOE) is able to certify degrees earned at foreign universities. According to the regulation, the holder of a foreign university diploma must prove to the MOE that the foreign university is accredited. The foreign degree holder must also pass a test on the Ruhnama (late President Niyazov's ideological treatise) and a test related to the person's specialty. Until recently, the applicants encountered many bureaucratic obstacles and the entire process took up to six months. However, a 2009 graduate of a medical school in Kyrgyzstan told a Pol/Econ local staff member that she applied to the MOE for certification of her medical diploma in mid-September and was scheduled to take the required tests in mid-October. Local analysts say that the serious shortage of qualified specialists in the country forced the government to speed up the process of certification of foreign degree holders. ¶6. (SBU) The 2002 Turkmen Law on Public Healthcare includes provisions for the development of private sector healthcare. The law stipulates that the Ministry of Health is responsible for licensing private healthcare providers and for implementing quality control over the services of private healthcare providers. Presently, there is only one private hospital in the country, which is owned by a Turkish company. Reportedly, there is continuing friction between the management of the Turkish hospital and a government inspector, who was assigned by the Health Ministry to work at the hospital full-time. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: It is a positive sign that the government has finally admitted a serious shortage of qualified specialists in the country and changed its discriminatory policy against holders of foreign university diplomas. The government's next step should be improvement of the quality of education at local universities. END COMMENT. ASHGABAT 00001269 002.2 OF 002 CURRAN