Children in hospitals in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will receive better services

Quality of care has recently been recognized as a neglected issue and the existence of a quality gap is the most likely explanation for slow progress towards MDG 4.

Efforts to improve the quality of pediatric care in the district hospitals have proven successful where introduction of national pediatric standards of care and institutionalization of triage and emergency pediatric care procedures resulted in a reduction in case fatality.

In an effort to scale up and document best practices, the Russian Federation has provided funding to be administered by WHO to support improved quality of pediatric care project in four selected countries in Central Asia and Africa. Within the framework of this Project, WHO in collaboration with Scientific Centre for Child Health of the Russian Academy of Medical Science and other technical experts will provide technical assistance to Angola, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to strengthen their national health systems' capacity to improve the quality of pediatric care in the first-level referral hospitals.