Uzbekistan and Tajikistan Strengthen Cross-Border Health Controls

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have launched a cross-border cooperation project focused on sanitary and epidemiological safety, the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health of Uzbekistan said.

The launch meeting brought together representatives of the two countries’ sanitary and epidemiological authorities, the International Organization for Migration, the Asian Development Bank, relevant government agencies and international experts.

The project is aimed at strengthening cooperation between the Oybek border crossing in Bekabad district of Tashkent region and the Fotehobod crossing in Tajikistan’s Sughd region.

The initiative provides for the establishment of an intersectoral working group and the development of mechanisms for cross-border information exchange. It will also include measures to strengthen epidemiological surveillance systems and prevent the spread of infectious diseases across the border.

Another area of the project will be an assessment of the medical needs of people living in border areas and mobile population groups.

Botirjon Kurbonov, deputy chairman of Uzbekistan’s Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health, said the Oybek and Fotehobod border crossings are strategically important facilities along the Tashkent-Khujand route.

He said sanitary and epidemiological surveillance needs to be continuously strengthened, alongside cooperation and coordination between the authorised bodies of the two countries.

The project is expected to strengthen health protection for people living in border areas, improve the speed of response to potential epidemiological threats and reinforce sanitary and epidemiological safety in Central Asia.