A five-day sub-regional cross-sectoral training course for Central Asian countries on supervision, prevention and control of diseases associated with the use of poor-quality food and diseases caused by zoonoses, starts in the City Centers of Public health and Nutrition. It is organized by the WHO European Regional Office in collaboration with the WHO office in Turkmenistan. Five international experts and two members of the WHO Regional Office, eight medical specialists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and more than 40 national experts attend the workshop.

According to the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan the purpose of the training course is to strengthen human resource capacity of Central Asian countries on Disease Prevention and Control caused by substandard food and zoonoses. The main emphasis is on cross-sectoral cooperation and exchange of information.

The training course consists of general plenary sessions and thematic sessions for epidemiologists and microbiologists. The participants will discuss the problems of diseases associated with the use of poor-quality food and zoonoses, as well as cooperation and exchange of information. In addition, workshops will be held in ultramodern laboratories of the Center of Public Health and Nutrition.

The training course will upgrade the professionals’ skills of the regional states in the International Health Regulations and the network "INFOSAN". In accordance with the results of a cross-sectoral Sub-regional training course, it is planned to develop and agree upon a joint action plan.