Improving the Quality of Care in Tajikistan through Medical Education

With two-thirds of Tajikistan's population living in rural areas, primary healthcare remains a critical component in the drive to make quality healthcare more accessible, with medical education playing a key role. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Medical Education Reform Project, which is implemented by Swiss TPH, is committed to improving primary healthcare services and medical education in Tajikistan, ultimately contributing to the goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Tajikistan: a country rebuilds Since Tajikistan gained independence in 1991, much has been done to move away from the heavily centralised and specialist-focused healthcare system that existed in the Soviet era, to a primary healthcare system that emphasises the concept of family medicine. As the country still grapples with rebuilding an economy that was devastated by a civil war that waged on until 1997, healthcare efforts also lag behind. Tajikistan is currently the poorest country in Central Asia with a dual burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases, with cardiovascular disease responsible for nearly 40% of all deaths. Rural populations in particular often face healthcare barriers such as a lack of well-trained doctors and nurses, stock-outs of medicines and other supplies, and poor infrastructure, making quality treatment and care inaccessible. The Medical Education Reform Project (MEP) aims to strengthen the quality of primary healthcare in Tajikistan through the reform of undergraduate and postgraduate training and the introduction of new forms of continuous professional development to build a robust workforce of well-trained family doctors and nurses.