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Tajikistan
In December 2003, after six years of activity, MSF closed its mission in Tajikistan, a country deeply affected by the breakup of the Soviet Union and a resulting civil war. Tajikistan is one of Central Asia's poorest republics, with little health care for the most vulnerable residents. Among the latter are the mentally ill, who are stigmatized and forgotten. During 2003, MSF continued to help patients in 17 psychiatric clinics in which doctors and other caregivers lack the means to provide proper care, and many patients receive medication only if their families can pay for it. MSF supplied food, clothing, blankets and heaters and drew national and international attention to the predicament of those living in these institutions. In September and October 2003, the organization mounted a photo exhibition in the capital, Dushanbe, to highlight the problems faced by this neglected group. At the end of 2003, MSF transferred responsibility for this project to the World Food Program. In December, the ministry of health and another aid organization took over a project MSF had established in the Rasht Valley to improve basic health care, particularly for expectant mothers. This was one of MSF's final programs to be transferred once the organization determined that its presence was no longer needed in Tajikistan. MSF has worked in Tajikistan since 1997. |
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