On November 15, 2021, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov met with the delegation of the World Health Organization (WHO) led by Regional Emergency Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe Dr. Dorit Nitzan.
The Foreign Ministry reports that the sides discussed a broad range of issues pertaining to the implementation of agreements reached in the course of the meeting between President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov with WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr. Hans Kluge on 8 October, 2021.
The parties also reviewed the draft of the Road Map for Turkmenistan-WHO cooperation and discussed the possibility to hold regular high-level meetings accelerating the implementation of joint agreements.
Meredov presented a range of initiatives, such as the foundation of the Central Asia Regional Center for Epidemiology, Virology and Bacteriology and the construction of the Research and Development Center for Epidemiology, Virology and Bacteriology in Turkmenistan.
During the online speech at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly held on 21 September, 201 the Turkmen President proposed to set up international and regional institutes, including the WHO special program to study the coronavirus genome, the WHO multilateral mechanism to fight pneumonia, the WHO Methodological Centre for Treatment and Prevention of Acute Infectious Diseases, and the Central Asia Regional Center for Epidemiology, Virology and Bacteriology.
According to Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry, the sides also discussed the implementation of “the One Health approach” put forwarded by Hans Kluge when planning and promoting the Regional Center for Epidemiology.
WHO: The One Health approach, based on the premise that the health of humans, animals and ecosystems are interconnected, involves applying a coordinated, collaborative, multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach to address potential or existing risks that originate at the humananimalecosystem interface.
Close cooperation between the human and animal (domestic and wild) health and environment sectors is necessary for the effective prevention and control of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
It is also reported that Turkmenistan supports the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development (the so called Monti Commission) established under the initiative of Hans Kluge in September 2020.
Dorit Nitzan did not mention the meeting in her Twitter account. The website of the WHO Regional Office for Europe also did not report on the meeting.
On 8 October, 2021 Hand Kluge arrived in Ashgabat for talks with President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.Based on the outcomes of the meetings the sides agreed to hold the WHO technical mission to Turkmenistan to study COVID-19 genome “soon”, which will contribute to improved efforts within the framework of international medical and public health regulations.
On 8 November, 2021 for the first time WHO publicly challenged Turkmenistan’s claim that there are no coronavirus cases in the country.Dr Catherine Smallwood, a WHO senior emergencies officer COVID-19, said that “the pandemic has been spreading worldwide for almost two years now.
From the scientific point of view, it’s unlikely that the virus is not circulating in Turkmenistan”.The post WHO delegation arrives in Turkmenistan first appeared on Chronicles of Turkmenistan.