�enter of Medical Enlightenment
"Sof Goya", Uzbekistan
 

Non-governmental noncommercial organization Center of Medical Enlightenment was established in 2001 by the group of initiators backed by the Ministry of Health, Republic of Uzbekistan with the aim to implement technical and economic assessment of anti-tuberculosis activities and relevant projects dealing with other socially significant diseases. The Center was officially registered at the Ministry of Justice, Republic of Uzbekistan, on August 28, 2003 at # 482.

Mission:

The activities of the Center are guided to unite and coordinate the expertise of doctors - members of the Center to concentrate their efforts   upon sanitation as well as intellectual growth and development and upgrading of social economical state of the society by means of enhancement of medical knowledge of doctors. Also we advocate population to run healthy life and build framework for people with socially significant diseases (tuberculosis, leprae, AIDS, etc.) to obtain personal and professional independence; we provide with various spheres to apply to and to realize recourses for social rehabilitation and further integration of them into society.

Partners/Collaboration:

Since starting to team work in the Center we actively collaborate with the Ministry of Health, the Scientific Research Institute of Phtisiology and Pulmonology, Republican DOTS Center, National Society of Red Crescent  of Uzbekistan, UNDP/UNV, Open Society Institute Soros Foundation � Uzbekistan, Project for Economical Development in Central Asia, Uzbek Association on Reproductive Health.

Target groups:

Phtisiologists, nurses and medical assistants for TB Service,

Health care workers sphere of activity of which counteracts to socially significant diseases

TB people

Activity of the Center:

Technical and economical assessment, TB Control Projects analysis as well as conducting activities on medical and sanitation education amongst target groups of health care workers and the population. Approximately 5 000 memos for doctors on the �Basic DOTS principles� are allocated. With technical support of the National Society of Reed Crescent a series of booklets is designed aiming to increase informative level of patients on treatment and prevention of Tuberculosis.

Unity of national and foreign specialists� force for thoroughly scientific investigation of issues on TB Management and Epidemiology, and medical psychological, social and professional rehabilitation of the patients.

Activity program to ensure adherence to DOTS protocol and prophylaxis of regimen failure is being implemented at the moment in rural areas of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The plan of measures was designed taking into account external experience in TB Control Programs.

Linguistic service available at the Center for the target groups of health care workers and students of medical institutions: preparation of literary review and summarization as well as medical publication translation into Uzbek, Russian, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Turkmen and English Languages. Karakalpak-English Dictionary of medical terminology on Latin language basis is developed and prepareed to publishing along with Karakalpak-Russian and Karakalpak-Uzbek medical Dictionaries.

The Karakalpak Affiliate of The Center has assess to Internet networking promoted by Open Society Institute, Soros Foundation allowing the health care workers of TB facilities to maintain intercommunication via e-mail and develop up-to-date analytical database ensuring TB Control Program.

The project on establishing informational esthetical center on the base of Republican TB Sanatorium for children at the Ministry of Health, Republican of Karakalpakstan is put into effect to contribute to intellectual and moral improvement of TB children and to build conditions for children and teenagers with the view of acquiring personal independence and professional orientation.

Educational system is expanded via functioning of medical library

Information frame for beneficiaries of TB service to act is restrained; at that time the library is informational resource fundamental delivering necessary resources to health care workers for further expansion of skills of independent effective search, analysis of medical and social data. The library fund is formed through membership fees collection and resources supplied by international donors as humanitarian aid � educational supplies, periodicals and booklets.

Rational and adequate nutrition remains significant factor in prevention and treatment of tuberculosis. Taking that into account, the Center staff issued locally a number of articles regarding qualitative and quantitative parameters of nutrition and liquidation of series  of popularized stigmatic conceptions on Tuberculosis. Amongst population and TB facilities beneficiaries we started to distribute booklets about sour milk product � shubat and kumys, camel milk recommended by Central Asian researchers to have in order too reduce side effects followed anti-tuberculosis drug administration.

Thereby, nowadays the activities to provide   informational  and analytical support of medical staff performance is being realized by the staff and volunteers of the Center in collaboration with international and local organizations to facilitate TB control activity in the Republic.

Contact information: Tashkent, 700086, 1, Alimov Str., e-mail bekplus@bk.ru

Karakalpak Affiliate address: Nukus, 742000, 120, Amir Timur Str., tel: + 998 61 222 70 54, 223 3772  e-mail gukan@list.ru