WHO mission praises Uzbekistan’s whole-of-government COVID-19 response

The mission sought to understand the response mechanisms by visiting designated hospitals in urban and rural areas, national and peripheral laboratories and other response structures, such as primary health care centers and public health departments in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara. Mission experts noted the high-level of commitment throughout government, facilitating cooperation across sectors and laying the groundwork for comprehensive legislation, including a National Strategic Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19,

Experts commended officials for moving quickly to respond to the outbreak. Efforts to improve testing capacity, isolation measures, treatment and contact tracing were included in a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach. The country was further praised for setting up designated COVID-19 triage and treatment centres and organizing hospital structures and administrative systems to deal optimally with cases.

“Low-hanging fruits”

It was noted that Uzbekistan benefits from a high level of community awareness, as well as a working surveillance system providing daily aggregated data to inform decision-making. Additionally, the number of national diagnostic laboratories increased in response to the outbreak, creating a network of 60 throughout the country.

Experts advised establishing a platform for knowledge sharing via video conferencing. They also recommended scaling up national training programs for laboratory staff and expanding Quality Management Systems, in cooperation with international partners.