Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 3 November 2026 – The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan (MoHMIT), is conducting an assessment of effective vaccine management (EVM) in Turkmenistan from 2 to 20 November 2026. The assessment aims to evaluate the performance of the national vaccine supply chain and develop an evidence-based improvement plan to strengthen vaccine management, monitoring and oversight.
The EVM assessment is a joint WHO–UNICEF initiative that examines the effectiveness of vaccine supply chains, from national-level management and storage to distribution at subnational and district levels and the delivery of immunization services at health-care facilities. Its findings will help identify areas for improvement and inform actions to meet the needs of the national immunization programme, including routine, supplementary and emergency vaccination activities.
As part of the initiative, WHO and UNICEF experts are conducting a training seminar from 3 to 6 November in Ashgabat to strengthen the technical capacity of national specialists in implementing the EVM methodology and assessment tools. The training includes practical exercises on data collection, the use of the EVM application and field testing to prepare national experts for the assessment visits.
From 9 to 13 November, the joint expert team will conduct field visits to selected health-care facilities in Ashgabat, Arkadag and the regions of Turkmenistan, in coordination with the MoHMIT. The visits will cover different levels of the vaccine supply chain and support the systematic collection of data on vaccine management practices.
The mission brings together WHO experts from Headquarters and Regional Office for Europe, international consultants and advisers from Armenia and Kazakhstan, alongside national specialists and representatives of the MoHMIT. This collaboration will also facilitate technical knowledge-sharing and strengthen national expertise in vaccine supply chain management.
Following the field assessment, the experts will analyse and validate the collected data, identify key findings and formulate recommendations in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF and the MoHMIT.
The assessment is expected to provide an evidence-based foundation for strengthening the management, monitoring and oversight of the national vaccine supply chain, supporting the continued implementation of Turkmenistan’s immunization programme. ///nCa, 5 November 2026 (in cooperation with WHO Turkmenistan)