From 1st to 7th of June 2024, intensive care unit medical specialists completed training on pediatric oxygen therapy for clinical practice, organized by UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry at the Scientific and Clinical Centre for Maternal and Child Health in Ashgabat. 

Medical oxygen is a life-saving tool used to treat both acute and chronic respiratory diseases, including pneumonia. It is needed during surgeries, trauma, emergency interventions, intensive care, as well as for the treatment of pregnant women with obstetric complications, newborns and children with respiratory failure. Access to quality medical oxygen is essential to achieve universal health coverage and seven out of nine targets of Sustainable Development Goal 3, «Good health and well-being».

As a result of the training, health workers will be better able to prescribe appropriate oxygen therapy for children through diagnosis, delivery and administration of oxygen to the patient. UNICEF Turkmenistan supports the implementation of oxygen solutions in maternal and child health facilities, including access to supplies of essential oxygen products, installation of innovative oxygen production units and building the capacity of health workers to provide intensive care for newborns and children. 

«Continuous professional development is important in the field of oxygen therapy, since critical situations require a high level of skills from a health professional in the correct prescription and use of oxygen as a treatment. I am pleased to see the great interest and engagement of the participants during the training in Turkmenistan», –said Dimitriy Sankovets, UNICEF consultant and head of the training centre of the National Scientific and Practical Centre «Mother and Child» from Belarus.