The health programme aims to enhance the health status of communities in remote, mountainous regions of the Kyrgyz Republic by improving access to quality health care at the local level and advancing health promotion, with a special focus on women of reproductive age and children under five. The main strategic directions of the health programme include community health promotion, capacity building of health professionals as well as health promoters, and strengthening health service delivery.
To date, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) through the Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP), has supported the establishment of 84 Village Health Committees and 64 School Health Committees, which disseminate information to improve hygiene and sanitation, ameliorate maternal and child health, increase nutritional status and prevent the spread of common communicable diseases.
High mountain communities tend to suffer from poor diets and significant micronutrient deficiencies. In response, MSDSP is supporting the establishment of kitchen gardens in targeted geographies. 17 vegetable growers groups have been established benefiting more than 200 households.
In order to improve antenatal and postnatal care and increase family and community support and mobilisation in order to improve maternal and child health, the health programme supported the establishment and operation of 24 Birth Preparedness Schools (Parent Schools) in remote areas of Naryn and Osh oblasts.
Parent Schools build awareness among new and expecting mothers on the importance of breastfeeding, nutrition, prevention of anemia, danger signs during pregnancy, and the importance of father’s involvement in pregnancy and child development. Furthermore, since 2011 AKF has promoted the Care for Child Development (CCD) approach. Thus, over 200 local health promoters, including professionals at primary health care level, have been trained on Care for Child Development reaching 1,844 caregivers.
More than 22,000 people from Naryn and Osh oblasts have received health promotion and disease prevention messages on reproductive health, family planning, antenatal and postnatal care, care for child development, nutrition and WASH from AKF/MSDSP-supported health facilities.
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is leveraging the potential of new technologies in order to improve access to quality health care in rural areas of Kyrgyz Republic.
AKF has supported the establishment of an eHealth connection between the National Maternal and Child Care Center and National Surgery Center (hub sites), and Naryn Oblast Merged Hospital, Naryn Oblast Family Medicine Center, and At-Bashy District Hospital (spoke sites). This connection enables teleconsultations and eLearning sessions to improve service delivery for surgery, maternal and child health clients and support staff capacity development
The health programme also works towards strengthening existing health facilities by fostering professional development of health care workers and improving access to medical service delivery.
To date, more than 607 health professionals from Naryn and Osh oblasts have been supported to undergo professional development training in Bishkek and abroad, including the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at Aga Khan University, and the Kazakh School of Public Health.
In 2016, the Aga Khan Health Services, Kyrgyz Republic, launched its first family medicine and diagnostics centre in Naryn, offering high quality outpatient and diagnostic services to the communities in Naryn Oblast and adjoining areas, as well as UCA faculty, staff and students.
The Centre was officially opened in May 2016, operating under a license issued by the Kyrgyz Republic Health Ministry. This is the first such private not-for-profit centre to provide high quality, reliable and affordable healthcare services, primarily focusing on diagnostics, family medicine and specialist outpatient services. As with AKHS facilities elsewhere, it also offers welfare for those who cannot afford the service.
The response so far has been encouraging and the centre aims to launch microbiology services in 2017, which would be another first in the region.
