Ashgabat, 12 August 2026 — The World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office in Turkmenistan and the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan convened a meeting in Ashgabat to strengthen national mechanisms and procedures for planning, preparedness and response to public health emergencies at points of entry.
Held at the UN Building, the meeting brought together representatives of key national institutions responsible for public health, emergency response, veterinary and plant health, customs, migration and border management. Participants reviewed progress in strengthening preparedness and response capacities and discussed priorities for further action.
A key focus of the meeting was the discussion and finalization of the draft National Action Plan for public health emergencies at points of entry, including progress in implementing activities to strengthen national mechanisms and procedures for responding to public health emergencies at points of entry in Turkmenistan.
The meeting also aimed to provide advisory and technical support to the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry and other stakeholders to strengthen national capacities at points of entry, in accordance with the requirements of the International Health Regulations (IHR). Participants also discussed the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to support a coordinated and timely response to public health emergencies at points of entry in the country.
Representatives of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, the State Customs Service, the State Migration Service and the State Border Service shared updates on ongoing activities related to public health emergency preparedness and response at points of entry in Turkmenistan within their respective areas of responsibility.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to receive technical input from WHO experts at global and regional levels. Sara Barragan from WHO Headquarters presented an overview of global and regional WHO activities on public health emergency preparedness and key IHR provisions related to points of entry. Karen Nakhapetyan from WHO/Europe introduced the WHO Pandemic Agreement, while Tanja Schmidt from WHO/Europe discussed activities at points of entry in the European Region and their links to the IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. Akbar Esengulov from WHO/Europe introduced the WHO simulation exercise package for points of entry.
The meeting concluded with a joint discussion on priority areas for improvement, proposed solutions and next steps for finalizing the National Action Plan and developing SOPs.
Strengthening capacities at points of entry is an important component of national public health emergency preparedness. WHO continues to provide technical and advisory support to Turkmenistan to strengthen these capacities and support implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005). ///nCa, 13 August 2026 (in cooperation with WHO Turkmenistan)