After 15 years of experience in Mongolia, where the health system was crippled following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the team found that Tajikistan was faced with similar challenges and selected it as their next destination.
Anaesthetist Dr Désirée Lai and Dr Thomas Böhlen, anaesthetist and pain therapist, conducted a kick-off lecture for rural and urban anaesthetists in Dushanbe at the beginning of May. The lecture had not been planned in the beginning; but after the Ministry of Health and Social protection (MoHSP) of Tajikistan had urged the team to do a presentation on blood transfusion, anaesthesia during emergency obstetric situations and cardio pulmonic resuscitation, the Swiss team kindly agreed. The lecture was conducted at the newly built “Istiqlol” hospital in Dushanbe.
The hospital, which reminds of a mid-century palace, was inaugurated in 2015 by the Tajik President.. However crippled by the civil war, the country’s health system still needs reform and support from the international community. Therefore, the Swiss Surgical team approached the Government of Tajikistan and offered their help in surgical areas. The agreement between the team and the MoHSP was signed in 2016, however, the Swiss surgeons had already started their cooperation with Tajik colleagues three years earlier.
“Almost all regional and city hospitals have the same problem. We had to start from scratch as the system is still recovering from past conflicts, and many doctors have left the country”, said Dr Thomas Böhlen, member of the SST. The fact that almost 100 doctors wanted to participate in the lecture is proof that there has been a certain brain drain in the country. “Unfortunately, only 30 anaesthetists could take part in the lecture as the practical part needed to have fewer people for efficient work,” Böhlen explained. He also mentioned that the team was very happy to see how significantly the local medical staff had improved their knowledge in pain therapy.
Kimiyo Dodoeva, a Tajik anaesthetist with 26 years of professional background in maternity care, was the only woman amongst male Tajik anaesthetists. When she was asked why there were not more women in the lecture room, she confessed that the profession needed strong physical and mental capacities, and many women were not keen on learning the profession. She shared from her experience: “During Soviet times, we used a lot of medicines and blood transfers for reanimation, which was very costly. With modern technology, we work more efficiently and can save more lives.”
Dodoeva was looking forward to be more active during the practical part of the lecture. She confessed that it was very rare for them to use the defibrillator during her work. “It is very important for us to practice with the special training equipment and dummy brought by the Swiss team,” she said. “For Tajik people, whatever comes from Switzerland, is of high quality.”
