In March 2020 Turkmenistan closed its borders and suspended all international flights because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents with severe medical conditions, who cannot be treated by local doctors because of the lack of relevant qualifications, were most affected by this decision.
Previously, after obtaining a permit from the Ministry of Healthcare, patients had an opportunity to go for treatment to overseas clinics.Turkey, Iran and India were popular medical destinations.
Residents are currently barred from exiting the country even despite a serious illness or a life-threatening medical condition.For serious conditions a month or even a few days of delayed treatment are critical and those diagnosed with such diseases have been waiting for two years in order to leave the country for treatment.
Ayperi Annayeva is one of them.When she turned 16, her family noticed bruising and pale skin.Ayperi complained about fatigue, felt unwell and often fainted.
After local healthcare practitioners had failed to establish a diagnosis, the girl was taken to India for a medical examination.In 2019 she was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a disease in which the body fails to produce blood cells in sufficient numbers causing a deficiency of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
A patient’s condition can be stabilized for a while with the help of medications, but the only treatment is bone marrow transplantation, which is not performed in Turkmenistan.
Upon return to Turkmenistan, Ayperi’s family started collecting money for expensive treatment.They had sold their apartment and сollected donations.The girl’s family also managed to convert manats to $20,000, permitted by law, at the official rate.
Doctors from a Belarus clinic had agreed to perform a surgery and Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Healthcare had issued an exit permit.However, in March 2020, when the tickets had already been purchased, the Turkmen authorities closed the borders.
Since that time Aypetri’s relatives have contacted Turkmenistan’s Migration Office, the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Healthcare and Medical Industry and even the President with a request to grant an exit permit.
The Foreign Ministry forwarded the application to the Healthcare Ministry which informed that the girl had been included in the list of those permitted to leave the country in an repatriation flight (there are no such flights) and that she was provided with all medications (which is also not true).
However, officials from the Migration Office said that she would be able to travel once the borders were re-opened and international air service was resumed.
Because written requests did not bring about any results, Aypetri and her mother went to Ashgabat for a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Healthcare.In connection with COVID-19 restrictions the official did not personally meet them but in a telephone conversation asked to leave the documents to be further reviewed.
After another call to the agency it turned out that the documents had been misplaced despite the fact that the Ministry had been aware of Annayava’s case.
Regrettably, there have been no tangible results and the girl’s life is in danger.
Helping people in such situations might reiterate the willingness of the newly-elected President to initiate positive changes.This does not require large financial expenditures but will contribute to the growing public support.
Hopefully the desperate girl’s request will be fulfilled and she will be permitted to leave the country to get the much-needed medical assistance.The post A girl diagnosed with a bone marrow disease requests a travel permit from the Turkmen authorities to undergo treatment first appeared on Chronicles of Turkmenistan.