World Health Day 2024: how UNOPS ensures "My Health, My Right" through its projects in Uzbekistan

For Uzbekistan, it aligns with national development priorities and goals, highlighting health as a critical driver for societal advancement and achieving sustainable development. 

To support health initiatives, UNOPS has embarked on a project* partnering with the Government of Uzbekistan to upgrade the Sanitary and Epidemiological Committee (SES) laboratory facilities nationwide through infrastructure renovations and the procurement of essential diagnostic equipment and supplies. Bridging these undertakings with health rights, this article discusses how the project not only addresses immediate healthcare challenges but also embodies the key elements of health rights: availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality. 

Availability refers to the need for a sufficient quantity of functioning health facilities, goods, and services. To ensure these are available to all without any discrimination, it is essential to invest in quality healthcare infrastructure and the training of healthcare professionals, ensuring that both urban and rural populations have equal access to them. 

The UNOPS intervention in Uzbekistan supports the availability of healthcare services by upgrading laboratory facilities across the country, ensuring that all 13 regions have access to enhanced health infrastructure and diagnostic capabilities. By procuring essential diagnostic equipment and supplies, and establishing an ICT-based national surveillance and monitoring system, this project aims to improve the capacity of healthcare providers to offer quality care but also strengthens the government's ability to effectively monitor and respond to future pandemics such as COVID-19.

Accessibility in healthcare means that facilities, goods, and services must be accessible to everyone. They are within safe physical reach for everyone, including vulnerable or marginalized groups, and are economically affordable. It also includes the right to access and share health information securely, without unauthorized disclosure, and mandates non-discriminatory access to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background, have equal opportunity to receive healthcare services. 

Through the project, UNOPS enhances healthcare accessibility by ensuring that any construction or renovation of infrastructure accommodates all categories of patients across all regions. This overlaps with economic accessibility improvements - having access to essential services within their own districts, there is no need for costly and time-consuming travel to regional-level facilities for patients. The integration of an ICT-based surveillance and monitoring system further supports timely and equitable access to diagnosis and treatment, ensuring a responsive healthcare system for all.

Acceptability relates to respect for medical ethics, culturally appropriate, and sensitivity to gender. It requires that health facilities, goods, and services cater to the specific needs of diverse population groups and in accordance with international standards of medical ethics for confidentiality and informed consent. 

By modernizing and renovating laboratory facilities to be culturally sensitive and accessible to all, including gender-specific accommodations where necessary, UNOPS ensures that the infrastructure itself meets the diverse needs and expectations of the community. Additionally, UNOPS' capacity-building initiatives offer specialized training for healthcare workers, emphasizing the importance of cultural competency, ethical medical practices, and patient-centered care, including respect and confidentiality of information related to each individual being treated. This ensures that the services delivered are respectful, acceptable, and tailored to the unique cultural context of each community served.

Quality entails that health facilities, goods, and services must be medically appropriate and of good quality. This element emphasizes the importance of skilled medical personnel, scientifically approved hospital equipment, safe and clean water, and adequate sanitation. 

UNOPS is committed to provide services that are not only available and accessible but meet a standard of quality that ensures effective and safe treatment and patient satisfaction. The project implemented in Uzbekistan ensures it covers all aspects of health care, including patient safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity. 

The project's benefits extend across multiple layers of the country's healthcare landscape. It promises to provide the people and healthcare providers with access to quality and accessible healthcare services, as well as enhanced facilities and resources. Eventually, it will bolster the capacity of government agencies under the Ministry of Health to safeguard the health and well-being of the Uzbek population.

___

* Within the project on Emergency Response to COVID-19, UNOPS is supporting the Government of Uzbekistan in enhancing the country's resilience against the COVID-19 pandemic and future epidemics. To achieve this, UNOPS is supporting the implementation of a $160.7 million loan from ADB and AIIB to equip and refurbish the national laboratory system, establish an ICT-based national surveillance and monitoring system, and expand treatment capacity for COVID-19 and future epidemiological cases.