On June 10, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of Azerbaijan hosted a reception in Baku to celebrate ten years of successful partnership for strengthening the health systems in Azerbaijan. The formal reception marked the completion of the USAID-supported “Azerbaijan Strengthening Health Systems through Integrated Programs” Project (AZ SHIP) and the end of over ten years of USAID assistance to the health sector in Azerbaijan. The reception gathered over 100 partners from the government, civil society, and health sector. The invited guests at the event included Mr. Richard Morningstar, the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mr. Gurban Sadigov of the Cabinet of Ministers, Ms. Malahat Ibrahimgizi, Member of Parliament, and representatives of the Ministry of Health.

Ambassador Morningstar observed that “It is very gratifying that large numbers of Azerbaijani health practitioners can now perform safer deliveries, take better care of newborn children, and better diagnose and treat tuberculosis.” He also said that “the United States looks forward to seeing increased government investments in health and education sectors resulting in gains that are most meaningful for all Azerbaijani people.”

The AZ SHIP Project (2011-2013), implemented by Abt Associates (USA) , builds on the success of the USAID Primary Health Care Strengthening Project, which ran from 2007 to 2011 and focused on strengthening primary health care services in Azerbaijan. “The efforts of the two health care projects, funded by USAID and implemented by Abt Associates, are reflected at all levels of health care system in Azerbaijan,” said Mr. Gurban Sadigov, the head of the Department of International Organizations at the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.

Major achievements under the two projects during the 7-year partnership include: building the capacity of the Ministry of Health in formulating and implementing  health care polices; introducing evidence-based medicine through the use of clinical practice guidelines; developing an electronic health information management system; empowering district health care providers to improve supervision, and introducing E-TB Manager – a database that integrates data covering all aspects of tuberculosis care and treatment. The AZSHIP project also assisted the Ministry of Health to train over 5,000 health care providers on topics that include tuberculosis, safe motherhood, newborn care, infection prevention, and non-communicable diseases. It supported forty communities to identify and address local health issues.