India-UN Fund: A Lifeline for Mothers and Newborns in Kyrgyzstan – Strengthening Maternal Health

  In remote regions of Kyrgyzstan, expectant mothers once faced significant barriers to quality maternal healthcare, with distance, resource constraints, and limited access to specialized medical expertise standing in the way of safe deliveries. “Preeclampsia and eclampsia are the leading causes of maternal and perinatal mortality in the Kyrgyz Republic,” said UNFPA’s Gulaiym Shigaibaeva in Osh. “Though competent pregnancy management and timely assistance can prevent most deaths.” Despite high coverage of antenatal services and skilled birth attendance, maternal mortality rates stood at 27.3 per 100,000 live births in 2022. Addressing this challenge, a project supported the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, managed by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), and implemented by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), equipped maternity hospitals in some of Kyrgyzstan’s most remote regions with telemedicine technology that is revolutionizing maternal and neonatal care. The initiative, titled “Increase access of rural women to quality reproductive and maternal health services in maternity hospitals with the highest number of deliveries”, is ensuring that no mother has to give birth without the support of qualified specialists.  

  “It is a great honor for me to be a part of the equipment handover event as well as a project related to the health of the population of the Kyrgyz Republic,” said Mr. Mohan Singh, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of India in the Kyrgyz Republic. “Health is the most important value in life, and when it comes to mothers, the issue becomes paramount. And when we invest in the health of a mother, we invest not only in the health of one person, but also in the health of her children, her loved ones and, accordingly, the whole society. Such health-related costs become not expenses, but investments. And when we invest in the health of the population, we contribute to the development of the country itself.” Partnering healthcare institutions have been supported to utilize telemedicine to conduct remote consultations with medical experts, enabling real-time decision-making during labor and early postnatal care. Indian expertise has played a critical role in designing a telemedicine platform optimized for maternal and child health, while continuous capacity-building workshops are equipping healthcare providers with the knowledge and skills to enhance quality of care. New equipment, including video-conferencing tools and digital tablets, is improving the monitoring of labor processes and allowing swift responses to complications, reducing the risk of preventable maternal and newborn deaths. A core element of the project is the strengthening healthcare governance and embedding international best practices into Kyrgyzstan’s national maternal healthcare system. In line with the National Quality Strategy of the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, which underscores the need for safer and more responsive healthcare services, health professionals participated in a two-day workshop on quality improvement. This training aimed to enhance the clinical knowledge of maternity hospital staff and improve continuous quality monitoring in maternal healthcare. Health professionals are already seeing the impact of this knowledge in their daily work. Rakhat Izabekova, Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Jalal-Abad Regional Clinical Hospital, underscored the importance of structured planning and accountability in quality management. “The Quality Committee at our hospital plays an important role in preventing infant and maternal mortality, as well as in the fight against infections,” he said. “Our goal is to ensure that the mother and child can be discharged home healthy, as well as to ensure patient satisfaction in general. Based on the new information I received at the seminar, I realized that we need to carefully plan each step and, most importantly, make a realistic plan.” For the Ministry of Health, the initiative represents a significant step toward achieving systemic change. Aizhamal Shambetova, Deputy Minister of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, emphasized the importance of focusing on care during the intrapartum and postpartum period. “Improving the quality of health care is critical for our health system,” she said. “We would benefit from focusing perinatal care on the intrapartum and postpartum period, as this is critical to saving lives and preventing stillbirths. It is not only about increasing the coverage of interventions, but also about ensuring that every woman and newborn receives skilled, evidence-based and respectful care. The workshop to build the capacity of health professionals in the area of quality of health services for mothers and newborns is a positive step towards achieving this goal.”  

  Beyond direct healthcare interventions, the project is fostering a culture of accountability and quality-driven leadership among medical professionals. “The topics studied will help us plan and more effectively organize work to improve patient satisfaction and the quality of medical services provided,” said Damira Tursunbekova, Head of the Department of Quality Management of Medical Services at the Osh Interregional United Clinical Hospital. “Empathy and focus on the patient’s needs are critical, and safety begins at the entrance to the hospital: this includes the presence of ramps and clear signs on the stairs. From my own experience, I have seen that even one person can have a significant impact on changing quality standards.” With telemedicine-enabled maternal health services, enhanced clinical knowledge, and a renewed commitment to quality assurance, the India-UN Fund project is making childbirth safer and healthcare systems more resilient.